


Annie's Stories #1

by BettyHT



Category: Bonanza
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 16:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 80,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4883797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam meets a feisty young woman who thinks that arguing means that you care.  It’s a tempestuous relationship at times, but loyalty, honesty, courage, and love are the cornerstones of the foundation that supports them through many crises.  Although the story is centered on the Adam and Annie relationship, the rest of the family is important to the story and there are changes for all of them too including romances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Annie's Stories #1

Annie

Chapter 1

"Well, it's no treat for me either. Stop moving around so much."

"Why? Just because you like to give orders?"

"No, because it hurts my shoulder."

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't thinking about that. If you lean back into me, maybe that would take some of the pressure off your shoulder."

"I'll be fine."

"You don't have to be the big suffering hero all the time, you know. Lean back, ya jackass, and take some pressure off your shoulder. You aren't going to be much help to your brothers and me if you pass out."

"I will not pass out."

"Yeah, well I don't know you well enough to count on that, so lean back. Now!"

All the while they were arguing, Annie was trying to work her back toward Adam's right hand so he could reach in her pants. Now in other circumstances, she would have just invited him to do that, but at the moment, they were tied together, he probably had a broken left collarbone, and she had a small caliber derringer tucked into the back of her pants. Because her hands were tied to Adam's, she couldn't reach down into the back of her pants to retrieve the weapon. His hands and fingers were much longer so she was trying to maneuver his hand into her pants to grab the pistol. Meanwhile she was covering what she was trying to do by staging a mock argument with him. Of course, he didn't know it was a mock argument, but he would when his fingers touched the grip of her pistol.

Annie's younger brother Jeremy was tied to Hoss. The two of them were about the same size so the rustlers apparently thought that they should be tied together with the larger rope the four men had. They had used a smaller rope to tie Annie and Adam together, but they had wound it around their wrists too. Suddenly she had Adam's hand in position and hiked up her hips burying his hand in her lace underthings. He would have enjoyed the moment a lot more except as his fingers brushed the lace drawers, they also felt the handle of a small pistol. He wrapped his fingers around the grip of the gun and then whispered.

"Well I thought that was going to be more fun. Now what do you think we can do? I need to be out of these ropes in order to do anything with that."

"Are they looking at us?"

"No. What do you have in mind?"

"Suck in your gut and hold it."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Annie hissed at him. Of all the times to be stubborn and unwilling to listen to a woman, this was not it. As Adam complied, he understood. It loosened the ropes somewhat, and Annie began slipping the rope from his wrists and sliding it down his hand. Soon he would have one hand free. It hurt a lot as the rough rope abraded the skin as Annie forced it to slide down his hand, but he had to hide that or the men watching them would know they were up to something. He put a smile on his face instead and tried to hold it.

"What are you smiling at?" The man who appeared to be the leader of the rustlers didn't like to see Adam smiling. It made him nervous.

"Well you might be smiling too if your hands were tied and pushed up a lady's behind. Can't say when I've ever had so much fun when I was tied up."

"Well, wipe that smile off your face. You might want to save some of that good cheer for later. We still gotta decide what to do with you four."

"You could just leave us here, and head out with the cattle you have already."

"Shut up! You know we can't do that. You let that kid escape and now we gotta worry about him coming back here with help. There's only four of us, so you four are our ace in the hole. If it wasn't for you, we'd be gone already." He gave Adam a solid kick to his thigh then to emphasize his power as well as his anger and frustration.

Dusk was approaching and the four rustlers were getting desperate. Adam could read it in their body language and could see from the worried look on Hoss' face that he knew it too. Desperate men could be especially dangerous. All they had done so far was rustle some cattle, but their fear of being apprehended could cause them to do a whole lot more. Gradually he felt the rope sliding over his right hand and onto his fingers. He realized he would have to pull his hand with the gun from her lace drawers first though. He had to take a breath anyway.

Whispering to Annie, Adam prepared to take a deep breath. "All right, that's smart. Let me catch my breath, and then you can work it down the rest of the way. I'll pull the gun out the next time. Tell me when you're ready."

The next time was the charm. Adam had a gun in his hand, and it was free of the ropes. The warmth of the pistol reminded him constantly of where it had been. He found Annie to be willful, sarcastic, smart, sassy, and incredibly sexy. Joe and Hoss had a hard time taking their eyes from her the first time they met. Adam had managed mainly because of how she talked to him at their first meeting. He tried to focus on remembering the details as Annie worked the rope down his other hand abrading the skin as it had on his right hand.

"We don't have any of your cattle. You can check the brands if you want. All twenty of these are ours."

"Do you know you're on the Ponderosa?"

"We're just cutting through. We aren't grazing on any of your precious grass. We're free rangers, and we want to get these cattle to California."

"Well you could have asked permission."

"Boy howdy, Your Excellency. Now I have heard about the Cartwrights. That big one must be the one they call Hoss, cause everyone says he's a right nice man and fair and kind to everyone."

"Yes, ma'am, that's me."

"So the one in the green jacket must be the handsome ladies man who could charm anyone into just about anything."

"Yes, ma'am, at your service."

"So that leaves just one and that's the oldest one who's the arrogant, know-it-all, haughty, bossy one."

Hoss and Little Joe started chuckling then, but they could see Adam get his mad on. There would probably have been more of a verbal sparring match except the four rustlers they had been tracking thought that all of them were in pursuit and had surrounded them. Suddenly four men with rifles stepped from the trees.

"You so afraid of the two of us that you had to have four armed men waiting just in case?"

Except the four men yelled for them to raise their hands and the Cartwright brothers obliged them. Surprised, Annie and Jeremy did not respond immediately and one of the men fired a shot over their heads. They raised their hands then. All of them were ordered to dismount. Disarmed one by one, they were marched up the hill to the rustlers' camp hidden at the top of a rocky ridge.

As they were marched up hill, Adam had moved to wrestle with two of them to give Joe a chance to get away. Annie had seen the two brothers exchanging looks but hadn't realized they were up to something or she would have run too. By the time she realized what they were doing, it was too late. Adam was laying on the ground holding his shoulder and getting some well placed kicks that put him into a fetal position. Hoss and Jeremy had to almost carry him up the rest of the way. Annie had wanted to go to him to help him, but the men wouldn't let her. It wasn't often you saw someone perform an act of heroism like that. He could have been killed for that little maneuver, but he acted like he had done nothing out of the ordinary. Hoss and Jeremy also acted as if that was exactly how they expected him to act. She was thinking that men were a little crazy risking their lives for others, and then acting all nonchalant about it. If it had been her, they would have heard something like screaming, yelling, and certainly complaints about being kicked like that. On the other hand, it had been the first indication she had had that perhaps the oldest of the Cartwright brothers might be more than an arrogant, haughty, bossy boots. He certainly was attractive if you liked the masculine, virile, hirsute type, and she did.

So here were Adam and Annie tied together back to back with one small derringer as their only defense and not much of one unless they could get free of the ropes before anything else happened. All the motion of what they were doing was taking a toll on Adam though. As Annie worked the rope down his left hand, it put a lot of pressure on his left arm which of course pulled at the damaged left shoulder. Sharp pains were radiating down his left arm with every movement. The blow to the head added to his misery because as the pain and movement increased, so did the dizziness and the nausea. He fought to keep himself from retching by trying to take a lot of breaths but that worked against the efforts of Annie to get them free.

Chapter 2

Now Annie and Adam were sitting and she could feel him shivering in the growing cold. She wondered if his injuries made it worse for him. She was leaning back into him as she worked the ropes, and could smell him, and she liked the smell. He smelled of leather, horses, sweat, and some bay rum. It was a manly scent which went nicely with the manly package of broad shoulders, beautiful eyes, and those pouty lips she was thinking would be a pleasure to kiss. She would never tell him that though. He was far too arrogant and probably assumed every gal who saw him, wanted him. She had met men like that before. She had no hopes this time either but it didn't hurt to admire the scenery and dream about him sliding into bed next to her and pulling her into a warm embrace. She was jerked from her reverie when the two of them were hauled to their feet and forced out to the edge of the ridge.

"You down there. You see what I got here. You come any closer, and I'll throw him right over the edge. Now I want to see you all mounted up and riding back the way you came. You leave us alone and we'll let your people live."

Down in the valley where they had been accosted by the rustlers and disarmed, Ben sat with Joe and a number of hands from the ranch. They were out of range of the men on the hill unless there was a sharpshooter in either group, but as far as Hoss and Adam knew, they were the only sharp shooters there.

"Adam, son, are you all right? Is Hoss all right?"

"Pa, we're all right."

The rustler who had yelled the threat hit Adam in the head with his pistol for that. "I didn't tell you could say anything. You two keep your guns on him. You untie him." The man gave orders to the other three so it was obvious who was in charge.

As the man untied Adam, Adam passed the gun to Annie who quickly slipped it around to the front of her as soon as her hands were free. With the rustlers' attention on Adam and in the diminishing light of dusk, they weren't watching her carefully. Meanwhile Jeremy and Hoss were loosening their ropes with no one watching them after watching Annie and Adam and seeing what they had done. The rustlers were not skilled in the art of tying up two people together that they had been forced to do because they only had two ropes.

The rustlers forced Adam to stand at the edge of the ridge. Annie could see that he was dazed and would likely be unable to keep his balance. It wouldn't take much to topple him over the side.

"All right, you back off and ride out of here, or I push him over the side. It's a long way down, and if you want him to avoid the sudden stop at the bottom, you better do as I say."

From her peripheral vision, Annie saw Hoss and Jeremy getting free of their ropes and reaching for their pistols that had been thrown down near them. She waited a moment but could wait no longer as the leader was threatening to shove Adam over the side.

"Drop your guns!"

The four men whirled on Annie, and it was four guns to one derringer they thought until they heard the pistols cocked on the other side of them by Hoss and Jeremy.

"You better do what the little lady says or you're gonna be caught in a crossfire." Three of the men dropped their pistols, but the leader turned in fury toward Adam.

"I ain't going alone." He lunged toward Adam to push him over the edge, but Adam turned enough to avoid being shoved over the edge falling instead to his side and grabbing a small shrub as he slowly slid toward the edge and the sheer drop below. The leader however toppled over the side. Annie raced to Adam's side and grabbed his arm pulling him but unable to stop his slide toward the edge although she slowed it enough that Hoss was able to get there and pull him back. Hoss pulled him up despite the brief yelp from Adam as Hoss grabbed his left arm and pulled. As soon as he had him safe, he let go of the left arm. Adam's eyes were squeezed shut, and he was breathing in short puffs as he tried to minimize the movement that caused agony. Annie sat down and cradled his head and did her best to stabilize his left arm and shoulder so they couldn't move.

Within minutes, Ben, Joe, and the others clambered up to the campsite. The hands took custody of the three rustlers and marched them down the hill. Joe slapped Hoss on the shoulder.

"Took your time getting back, Shortshanks. Just got here in time to see Adam almost tossed over the side."

"He doesn't look too upset about it now."

Laying with his head pillowed between Annie's ample breasts, Adam was content as she fussed over him. The pain had diminished as soon as he could stop moving and relax. He liked the feeling of her caring for him and lay calmly in her arms. Soon Ben and Joe were at his side with Hoss. Ben knelt down and put his hand on Adam's right shoulder.

"Adam, are you all right?"

"Well, I think I have a broken collar bone. I got a wallop upside my head and a few kicks to tender areas, but otherwise, I'm fine. I think my nurse here should keep doing what she's doing for another week or two though."

"You're just a malingerer. Most men would be up and herding cattle after a couple little bang ups like that." Annie smirked as well as Adam ever had.

Standing up then, Ben rolled his eyes, Joe smiled, and Hoss chuckled and shook his head. Hoss had a feeling all that sparring between the two of them showed they liked each other already. Jeremy walked over, and Joe did the introductions.

Ben didn't have much confidence in the plan the brother and sister had. "Well, Annie and Jeremy, your chances of getting your cattle over the mountains before the snow falls too deep are pretty slim. If you want, we'll buy your cattle and add them to our herd. We can take them to market in the spring. You're welcome to stay on the Ponderosa as our guests as long as you want."

"You don't owe us anything. We would have done it for anyone. After all, we helped old smarty pants here."

"I know he can be a bit supercilious and domineering, but he is my eldest son, and I am very grateful that you saved his life. I would like to consider both of you as friends, and as friends, I would welcome you to stay with us."

"Thank you. I think that Jeremy and I would like that."

"Supercilious and domineering? Isn't there some sympathy for the one who got hurt so Joe could get away?"

Joe had to jump in with that one. "See, there he goes taking credit for everything again. You'll have to excuse him. He has these delusions of grandeur some times."

Adam wanted to have a snappy retort to that, but Hoss was starting to help him up, and he had to bite his lip as the severe pain nearly overwhelmed him again.

"Not gonna cry like a little girl again, are you?" Adam just dropped his head to his chest and tried to ride out the wave of pain as Hoss pulled him up. "Sorry, I didn't know it was that bad. We'll get ya down this hill pronto and then we'll get ya home."

It took some time to get Adam home because they didn't have a wagon to use. He rode on Sport with Hoss on one side and his father on the other to make sure he didn't fall off his horse. With some of the hands, Joe helped Jeremy and Annie herd their cattle behind them until they reached one of the lower pastures. By the time they got to the ranch house, Adam was exhausted. Hoss helped him to his room and got him settled in bed. Annie asked if she could go see him. Ben and Joe were doing a count of the herd with Jeremy so Hoss was the only one there.

"Ah, ma'am, he ain't got no nightshirt on. He don't like em and wouldn't put one on."

"Well he's covered up with a blanket isn't he?"

"Yes'm, he is."

"Then would it be all right if I went to see him?"

"I guess so."

Taking that as permission, Annie headed up the stairs. At the top, she realized she didn't know which room and looked back down at Hoss who gave her the directions. When she got to his door, she found it slightly ajar. She knocked softly and entered. Adam appeared to be sleeping so she sat in a chair that was near the bed and watched him for a bit. His uneven breathing and the flickers of movement in his face showed he wasn't sleeping. Even though she knew he wasn't really asleep, she was startled when he spoke.

"Perhaps a kiss would help me sleep better."

"Well I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last man on earth."

"Well if you won't kiss me, there are all sorts of other things we can do if you want to slip in here with me."

"You're disgusting." Annie stood to leave but had a grin on her face as she exited the room. He liked her and wanted her. He was presumptuous though to think that just asking would get her in his bed. She hadn't been with a man in a long time though and she felt the desire in her heart to go to him. She knew he would be hard to resist, but she wasn't planning on making it easy for him. Although she knew she might succumb to his charms in a moment of weakness eventually. Even his voice was seductive. She heard him call out as she walked away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be that rude. Please come back again."

Chapter 3

Over the next couple of weeks, Adam and Annie sparred about all sorts of things and Adam teased her about being intimate when no one else was around. She teased him back unmercifully, and he kept suggesting she do something about what she was doing to him. He was out of bed after just a day, but couldn't work with that broken collar bone, and he was dizzy from the concussion as well. So the two of them had a lot of time together as the others helped get the ranch ready for the winter.

"Would you like a little mulled wine? Hop Sing really does a nice job with it every fall and winter. It might loosen you up a little."

"Maybe you ought to have some yourself. It might make you a little more mellow and pleasant to be around."

"No one is making you stay here with me. I could be reading a good book now if I didn't have to talk with you."

"Well I need to go take care of my horse anyway. Staring at his hindquarters and mucking out his stall will certainly be preferable to sitting with the hindquarters you're so good at being."

After grabbing her coat, hat, and gloves, Annie stormed out of the house. Adam picked up a book from the table next to his chair, but when he opened it, he found he couldn't concentrate. All he could think about was his last and hopefully his next conversation with the feisty young woman. He didn't want to, but he did like her very much. She got his mind working and his blood boiling in more ways than one. Normally Joe would have been after such a pretty woman who was staying with them, but her sharp tongue and quick wit were not things he found attractive. Joe and Hoss seemed to like Annie quite a bit though, and Adam thought they enjoyed her ribbing him altogether too much. Despite their sparring though, he found he enjoyed her company very much. He remembered being tied to her and having her warm body pressed to his back. Her quick thinking and resourcefulness had probably saved his life not that he would admit that to her. She would inevitably find a way to make him cringe when she talked about it. Adam liked his friends, his horse, and his ladies to have a bit of an edge, and he especially liked a woman who made him think as well as physically react to her. Annie was certainly doing all of that. Adam wondered what it would be like to kiss her, and if she would have a critical analysis afterwards. He grinned then and awaited her return.

In the stable, Annie was thinking along much the same lines. Except she was surprised that she liked Adam so much. Normally men who were so arrogant made her head in the opposite direction, but she was beginning to wonder if it was arrogance or just that he had confidence in his abilities. She had almost slapped his face earlier though. As she thought about that, she couldn't help it and she blushed. She had made several saucy comments to him, and he had been frustrated with her.

"Sometimes I think I ought to take you over my lap and spank you."

"Only sometimes? What about the other times?"

"Then I want to take you on my lap but for other purposes entirely."

"You're disgusting. Besides, I am not a child and I will not be talked to as if I am."

"Then why are you still here talking with me?"

"Because I told your father that I would stay with you while he was gone to town. Now I'm thinking I should have gone to town and run those errands for him, and he could have sat here with you."

That's when Adam had suggested the mulled wine, and now Annie was out here in the stable mucking out a stall when she could be relaxing in the nice warm house. As she finished, she thought she heard something outside. As she left the stable, she saw Adam sitting on the porch step. She closed the stable door and walked deliberately to him not wanting him to see how concerned she actually was.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were told to stay in the house today?"

"I was, but I thought it would be nice to sit out here. I just got a bit dizzy so I sat down. Is that all right with you?"

"Do you want some help to go back inside or to sit out here?"

"Probably best if I head back inside."

Bending low, Annie had Adam put his arm around her shoulder as he stood. She saw him grimace in pain and knew it was probably his shoulder that hurt. Then the two of them walked into the house. Annie shivered under his touch for his warm hand grasping her shoulder was sending tingles all through her body.

"Are you cold? Hop Sing really does make some nice mulled wine."

"No, thank you, but a little hot chocolate might be nice."

It was hard to tell if it was superior hearing or fabulous intuition, but as Annie sat by Adam on the settee waiting for his dizziness to pass, Hop Sing came out with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies.

"Mr. Adam no eat breakfast. He eat something now. Missy Annie please to tell Hop Sing if she likes his hot chocolate and cookies."

"I am sure Adam will love them, and I know I'll find them delicious. Thank you."

Not liking Annie answering for him but unwilling to contradict her statement, Adam just scowled. Annie and Hop Sing noticed.

"Mister Adam not good patient. He not listen and do as told. You make him sit here and rest."

"I'll try, Hop Sing, but other that sitting on him, I don't know how to make the man stay where he's put."

Grinning lasciviously then, Adam did have a comment. "I wouldn't mind you sitting on me. When do you suppose you could start that?"

"I really ought to slap you, but then I'd have to touch you to do that which would be disgusting."

"Perhaps a game of checkers or chess then?"

That turned into a marathon session of chess with each winning two matches. Adam wasn't beaten often and had never been beaten by a woman. He knew his brothers were going to have a great time with that. They got called away to dinner by an impatient Ben and agreed to continue after dinner. Joe said he would play the winner but both ignored him. The last match lasted over three hours in total, and ended up with Adam conceding. Surprisingly Annie was gracious.

"It probably wasn't fair. You were getting tired and made some mistakes. You were ahead the whole match until you did that."

"I lost. You won. That's how it is. Congratulations." Adam leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened his eyes and smiled. "And tomorrow, a rematch!"

Groaning, Annie was smiling inside. Another whole day with him would be fun. When they weren't trading barbs, they talked about almost anything. She enjoyed being with a man who was willing to listen to her ideas and discuss them with her. It didn't hurt at all that she enjoyed just being by him physically too. She was beginning to think she would be able to identify him in the dark just by the smell of him for it was so masculine and suited him perfectly.

Because of Annie, the days passed quickly for Adam and that made everyone else in the family happy. He was normally such an ornery patient and got crabbier and crabbier as his convalescence progressed. This time he remained pleasant to everyone even if there seemed to be an inordinate amount of insults traded with Annie. It seemed they worked at coming up with more and more creative ways to jab at each other in conversation. Neither one ever got upset with the other though because it was a game with them. Ben smiled at Hoss one evening as Adam and Annie doing their usual bickering over a chess match. Both of them understood that Adam and Annie were starting to like each other more and more. It seemed that quite often they forgot there were even other people in the room. There was nothing that anyone could interpret as traditionally romantic between the two, but both Ben and Hoss expected that would change as soon as both of them admitted how they actually felt about one another because that was so clear to everyone else.

On Thanksgiving, the day was more pleasant than ever with Annie and Jeremy joining in the family celebration that also included Sheriff Roy Coffee and Doctor Paul Martin. Over dinner, Roy was inclined to share stories he had about the three Cartwright sons, and none of those stories showed them in a good light.

"Roy, you're scaring our guests with stories about us like that. Don't you have something good you could say to impress them instead."

"Well, Adam, I didn't know that you wanted to impress someone. Now I surely could tell stories to make you all look better. Now which one of the guests would you like me to impress?"

Everyone at the table laughed at Adam's scowl, but for the first time, it was clear that Adam was pursuing Annie and wanted her to see him in a good light. When it was time to bid Roy and Paul good night, Adam stood next to Annie on the porch. As everyone said goodbye, Adam put his right arm around Annie's shoulders and pulled her close.

"You better remove your arm from my shoulder before I remove it from yours."

"Well you could try. I wouldn't mind wrestling a little."

"Adam, mind your manners with our guest. It's Thanksgiving. You ought to show some gratitude for what Annie has done for you."

"Oh, Pa, I am very grateful to Annie except for the mouth on her."

"My mouth! You should talk, you egotistical martinet."

"Ah, have you been looking in the dictionary for new words for your insults, again?"

"No, when I look at you, they just naturally come to mind."

Shaking his head, Ben walked in the house to let the two of them have another one of their verbal sparring matches except this time Adam had his arm around Annie's shoulder. It was one step closer to him admitting he was falling in love with her. Despite her words, Annie had not removed his arm from her shoulder or his. It was apparent to everyone that she actually didn't mind at all.

The verbal banter continued between the two of them over the next several weeks, but sometimes it was more affectionate than barbed. Everyone seemed to notice except Annie at least to the observers. Inside, Annie had noticed and liked the fact that Adam was being nicer and nicer to her, but she wouldn't concede that to him and give him any more control over her than he already had. He was like a powerful magnet pulling her into his orbit. But she found it extremely difficult to think of leaving the Ponderosa, and when she thought like that, she knew too that she was falling in love.

Finally it was nearing Christmas, and Annie wondered if she and her brother had overstayed their welcome. When she asked, she was surprised by the answer. Jeremy had agreed to work on the Ponderosa.

"Jeremy, when were you going to tell me?"

"I was going to tell you as soon as you brought up leaving. You just did, so I told you."

"But I can't just stay here because you're working here." Annie didn't want to leave but now felt that she would be imposing.

"You've helped everyone out by staying here with me. I would have inevitably bitten someone's head off otherwise." Adam was actually feeling a fear in his gut that Annie might leave. He had been looking forward to being able to spend time with her when the snows came and locked them at the ranch and often locked them in the house for days at a time.

"You got that right. Miss Annie, you plumb been the best gift anyone coulda given this family. You kept Adam from being the ornery cuss he normally is when he's hurt or sick."

"But Hoss, Adam is fine now. His collarbone has healed up."

"Annie, I don't want you to leave yet. There's not going to be a job for you in town now. Winter always makes jobs hard to find. And Jeremy will be here so you would be all alone in town." Adam had almost slipped up then and expressed his true feelings. Everyone in the room understood what he meant though.

"Annie, everything Adam said is true. You are welcome to be our guest as long as you want. It's not everyday I get to repay someone for saving my son's life by pulling a gun on some rustlers and then stopping him from falling over a cliff. And then you took charge of his care here. I can never repay you enough for that." Ben was smiling but everyone knew he was very grateful to Annie for what she had done.

"I couldn't impose on you like that. I need to do something then to pay for my stay." Looking at Adam and the expression he had, Annie was quick to amend that statement. "But I won't do anything that he suggests."

"Annie, I'm sure my son would never suggest anything inappropriate to a guest in our home." Ben gave a pointed look to Adam for there were some times he thought that Adam pushed too far in his comments to Annie. "We do have the Christmas season coming up, and we could use some help with the decorating and preparations."

"Thank you, Mr. Cartwright. I would be happy to help."

"Good, then that's settled. You will stay here, and Jeremy will be working for us."

Chapter 4

In the days before Christmas, there was plenty for everyone to do. Adam and Hoss took the wagon into town to pick up supplies and then a day later, they went back for more. They were getting ready for hosting a party and laying in stocks of supplies for the winter when they sometimes couldn't get to town. As Hoss and Adam returned from that second trip, Annie and Joe were hanging garland around the front door. There had been about six inches of heavy wet snow, and Joe couldn't resist. He hit both Hoss and Adam with snowballs as they were carrying boxes into the kitchen. He could tell by the looks he got that as soon as they could, they would be retaliating.

"Oh oh, Annie, get ready. There's gonna be a snowball fight soon."

"Why should I get ready? I didn't throw any snowballs."

"You don't think Adam is going to miss a chance to mash a snowball in your mouth?"

"Good point. All right, where's the best defensive position?"

Stacking snowballs as fast as they could, Annie and Joe still weren't ready because Hoss came at them with some powerful throws and Adam came up behind them after circling around the back of the house. He had been known in the past to even come down off the porch roof so Joe wasn't surprised but Annie was when he hit her in the back of the head with an especially wet sloppy snowball because he was so close he could. She turned around to throw one at him and got the next one in her mouth as she prepared to say a saucy comment. Then she got mad and tackled him which normally she wouldn't have been able to do, but he was so surprised, it worked. With her hands full of snow then, she gave him a particularly thorough snow face wash. When she was done, she realized he wasn't fighting back. Instead he had a huge grin which made her realize she had straddled him. She blushed about as thoroughly as she could at that point and moved to get up, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled her down for a kiss. It was a quick kiss, but she felt those warm lips wet with snow and they felt as if they had burned her. She leaped back as soon as he released her.

"Fun, isn't it?"

"You're a cad. I can't believe you just did that. We were having a snowball fight, ya big lug."

"I don't know. It felt more like wrestling to me."

Any retort by Annie was cut off by the barrage of snowballs that hit her as soon as she was standing. Adam started laughing so hard he rolled in the snow. Annie wanted to hit him with something harder than a snowball right then except she heard Hoss and Joe laughing hysterically too. Even Ben and some of the hands had come outside to see what the commotion was. They saw three men covered in snow with one of them laying in it, and Annie standing there fuming.

"Boys, I think perhaps you have given Annie enough of an introduction to a Ponderosa snowball fight. Annie, please, go inside and warm up. I'm sure these three can handle everything out here." With a raised eyebrow, Ben turned to follow Annie into the house and got hit in the back with a snowball. He turned around and his three sons were doing a great imitation of the three monkeys: no hear, no see, no say. He shook his head and headed into the house knowing he was going to have to hide his grin if Annie was anywhere in sight.

On Christmas Eve, there was a party at the Ponderosa. The house was gaily decorated and a giant tree stood next to the fireplace. There was a giant ball of mistletoe hanging near the front door. Musicians started to play, and Adam asked Annie to dance with him. He had not yet kissed her or hugged her since the snowball fight, but spent as much time as he could with her. Sometimes he reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Other times he touched her hand or her arm as he was talking to her. When they walked together, he put his hand on her back to guide her. He had never pursued a woman as hard as he was pursuing her. He meant to have her but she had yet to let him get close enough to hug her much less try to kiss her the way he wanted to kiss her. He pulled her close for their dance.

"Don't you think that's a little too close. I don't need to be guided like a baby."

"Just follow my lead. We're going to glide around this room together."

With his hand warm on her back and his breath on her face, Annie couldn't help herself and melded her body to his. She could tell that he was being affected by her as much as she was by him as he held her. The musicians moved from one song into another alternating fast with slow. After nearly an hour, when the music stopped, Adam didn't let Annie go but maneuvered her under the mistletoe.

"You can let me go now, you big lug."

"No, no, I can't. If you would be so kind to look above you, you will see it is mistletoe. I can't let you go now unless you kiss me. It's a tradition that must be upheld."

Submitting to a kiss, Annie went to pull away from him as he brushed his lips over hers again after the first kiss and then tried to nudge her lips apart with his tongue. "I can't kiss you in front of all these people. Not the way you're trying to kiss me."

"All right then, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Outside. We need to talk. Besides, you must be warm by now, and we can cool down a little and get some fresh air."

Grabbing her coat and his, Adam ushered Annie out the front door. He helped her slide her coat on and then pulled his on before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a passionate kiss he hoped.

"Well I don't have to kiss you here."

Adam pointed up, and when she looked, she had to laugh. There was another large ball of mistletoe hanging on the porch and he had positioned her directly beneath it. He pulled her into his embrace again and this time, he did get the passionate kiss he had been looking for. He kissed her neck then as he ran his finger along the neckline of her dress. She gasped from his touch but didn't pull away. He moved back to her lips and kissed her deeply again.

"Adam, we shouldn't be doing this. It's too much to do for a couple who aren't married."

Nuzzling her neck, Adam continued his kissing and caressing that Annie couldn't bear to stop and couldn't bear to continue.

"Please, Adam, don't. We shouldn't be doing this. We're not married."

"Well then, there's only one thing to do." As Annie went to turn to the house to return to the party, Adam pulled her tightly to him. She was surprised but what he said surprised her even more.

"Marry me. Please, will you marry me?"

"What?"

"I thought I made myself very clear. I wanted you from the moment I first saw you. But now I've gotten to know you, and I want you with me always. I want you in my bed; I want you by my side: I want you always and forever. I love you with my heart and soul."

Searching Adam's face for any sign of mischief, Annie only saw raw desire and hope. She wanted so badly to say yes, but she couldn't without explaining. "Adam, I can't say yes."

She never got that chance to explain. Adam dropped his arms from her, and that cold mask was fixed in place. "Very well, then. I guess you should probably go back inside. People will be wondering where you are."

As Adam turned quickly then and walked away from her, Annie didn't know what to do. She had wanted to explain, but he had turned on her so quickly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to explain any more if he could be that cold with her. She wondered if she did want to be with him. She didn't want another relationship without love. He had been so warm when he was flirtatious but had turned it off as fast as she thought any human could. Annie went back inside, but at the looks she got from Hoss and Joe, she knew they were wondering what had happened outside. She couldn't bear to tell them, and as she thought about what happened, tears began to flow.

Angry and wondering what Adam had done to upset Annie like that, Hoss and Jeremy did their best to comfort the young woman. Joe got her some tea, and told her to sit in the kitchen for a bit until she felt better. He sat with her and waited to see if she wanted to talk. Hoss and Jeremy went outside to talk with Adam because he did not come back in for the party. They couldn't find him, but Sport was gone.

As Adam had ridden out, he realized all of his friends were at his home. If he went to town, he knew he would probably end up at the saloon. So he headed for the little used line shack nearest the house. When he got there, he took care of Sport, and then he built up a fire in the fireplace and sat in the dancing firelight wondering how he had gotten things so wrong.

Christmas was very subdued on the Ponderosa when Adam did not return that day. They opened presents, toasted the holiday, and enjoyed Hop Sing's finest foods. But the empty chair at the dining table was a reminder there of what had happened. The biggest problem was that no one except Annie had any idea what had happened, and she didn't want to talk about it. As the day drew to a close, and everyone had retired for the night except Annie and Ben, he asked her to sit next to the fireplace with him.

"Mr. Cartwright, Jeremy and I should go. It's not going to be comfortable for anyone while we're still here."

"What happened?" Tears started to flow again so Ben handed over his handkerchief. "We need to get this all out in the open if anyone is going to heal."

"Adam asked me to marry him, and I said I couldn't say yes. I wanted to explain, but he just turned on me and walked away. He got so cold and distant. Then I came in the house, and you know the rest."

"My eldest son has a very difficult time opening his heart to anyone, trusting anyone. If you had said that to Joe, he would have gotten angry and demanded to know why not. Hoss would have probably shed a tear and asked you why. Adam is the most tenderhearted of them all regardless of that persona he has. He is very easily hurt. He runs away from being hurt. I think he expects to be hurt when he loves someone so he's more than ready to be hurt if something goes wrong."

"I didn't mean to hurt him. I thought he valued the truth, and I wanted to tell him the whole truth before he made that kind of commitment. He never gave me a chance."

"We're going to host the New Year's Eve party this year for the Cattlemen's Association. A member hosts every year, and it's our turn this year. Please, will you stay at least until that party is over? If you still want to leave then, I'll do whatever I can to help you with that."

"It's going to be very hard to do stay here. What if Adam won't come home because I'm here?"

"If you love him, isn't he worth a bit of trouble and hardship? And he will come home. If he isn't here tomorrow, I'll send Hoss after him. He knows that."

Smiling through her tears, Annie nodded. She didn't actually think it would make a difference, but she would stay until New Year's Day.

Chapter 5

On the morning after Christmas, Adam was home. It was clear he hadn't slept well with the circles under his eyes. He also hadn't shaved or eaten since he left. He sat in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee when Ben came down for breakfast.

"Well, it's about time you got back. Yesterday was pretty much ruined for everyone, thanks to you. What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Nothing."

"Well I expect you to be shaved and properly dressed for the dining table by the time we have breakfast."

"I'm not hungry. What work needs to be done today?"

"Well the regular chores of course, and we need to haul some hay to those pastures before the snow gets any deeper. Three or four wagon loads ought to be enough."

"I'll get started on that right away."

As Adam grabbed his coat, hat, scarf, and gloves before walking outside, Ben could only shake his head. Hop Sing looked at him with sympathy. Adam was a difficult man to work with especially when he was upset, and anyone who knew him knew that he was upset. Ben informed Joe and Hoss that Adam was home when they came downstairs. He told Annie too and saw how pale that made her. Ben realized how important this was to her, and how difficult she would likely find the next week to be unless he could get through to his most stubborn son.

After breakfast, Joe and Hoss went out to help Adam move hay to the pastures. He had finished their chores for them, and it was a measure of how upset they were with him that they did not thank him for doing some of their work. Adam had meant it as an apology, but obviously it wasn't enough. They were relatively quiet as they worked. Joe and Hoss wanted to say something about Adam's absence on Christmas and how that had ruined the holiday for them but didn't know exactly what to say yet so nothing was said.

Uncomfortable with silence in almost any situation, Joe had to bring up something he had heard at the Christmas Eve party. "Adam, there's a rumor that Dave Anderson's son looks more like you than him. You used to be sweet on the lady he married and now there's talk."

"Geez, Joe, if you believe the talk, there ain't a spinster, widow, or lonely wife who hasn't had the benefit of older brother's attentions. Many a dark haired baby has got a man wondering if he fathered that dimpled little tyke or if his wife had a visitor while he was away on a cattle drive."

Remaining silent, Adam continued to fork hay from the wagon onto a stack in the pasture. Joe couldn't remain silent though. "Adam, is that true? Have you been roaming the countryside taking care of the ladies? Hey that would explain why he isn't married yet, wouldn't it, Hoss?"

"Well, now, it surely would. Hey, older brother, ain't ya gonna say nothing?"

"Doesn't matter what I say. If I say I didn't, it appears I'm defending myself. I can't prove I didn't. If I say I did, you're going to think I'm boastful and a complete cad. It's a situation in which I can't win."

"Well, rumors must be based on something."

"Why, Joe?"

"Well, because aren't they always?"

"As long as people keep thinking like that, rumors will continue to be created and spread. It's asinine."

"Hey, you don't have to call me names."

"I didn't call you a name."

"Yes, you did. Didn't he, Hoss?"

"Nah, he just got those uppity ways cause his mama was uppity like that."

"Hoss, don't."

"Aw, c'mon. You say all sorts of stuff, and I say one thing about your prissy mother, and you get all upset."

"Shut up, Hoss!"

"Oh, get over it. She wasn't a saint. She was a woman in bed just like any other."

With that, Adam hit Hoss. After he did that, he stood in horror of what he had done. "Hoss, I'm so sorry." Adam had promised Inger that he would take care of Hoss, and in the nearly thirty years since that day, he had never hit Hoss. Now he had broken that promise and was devastated by his failure especially after what he conceived were his other failures in the past couple of days.

However Hoss was incensed and never heard Adam's apology. He was angry because Adam had hurt Annie. Hoss loved Annie and thought he could have fallen in love with her except she only had eyes for Adam. Hoss had suffered the day before watching Annie struggling to get through the day without crying. All of his pent up anger was released though as he pummeled Adam who did not fight back. Joe had to grab Hoss' arm and scream at him to stop. Hoss stood then and looked at Adam who was on all fours on the ground.

"Why didn't you fight back? You gonna just walk away from me like you walked away from Annie on Christmas Eve after you hurt her so bad she was crying all that night and all yesterday even when they weren't any tears?"

Adam struggled to his feet with the evidence of Hoss' mighty blows all too apparent. "Hurt her? I asked her to marry me. How can I face her now? Tell me that. How would you face a woman who said she couldn't say yes when you asked her to marry you?"

Both Joe and Hoss stepped toward Adam then but he shrugged off their help. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the blood on his face. It didn't do much good so he picked up his hat and scarf, put them on, and grabbed the fork to remove the rest of the hay from the wagon. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but fought off the nausea and dizziness to complete his task. Hoss and Joe finished up with the other larger wagon. Without speaking again, Adam climbed aboard the wagon seat and snapped the reins taking the empty wagon back to the barn. He was done unhitching the horses when Hoss and Joe returned with the other wagon. Hoss told him to go get cleaned up, and they would take care of the horses and the harness.

When Adam went into the kitchen to get help from Hop Sing, Ben heard him. He came into the kitchen to find out why Adam had not come in the front door. What he saw shocked him. Adam's face was bloodied, bruised, and swollen especially on one side.

"Now you've been fighting with your brothers?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a fight."

"Oh and what would you call it?"

"It was a pretty good beat down."

"And I suppose you didn't throw any punches?"

"I started it. It was my fault." Adam was wincing with that statement as well as the astringent Hop Sing was using to clean the abrasions on his face.

"Which brother?"

"You don't really think Joe could do this to me, do you?" Hop Sing finished cleaning Adam's face and handed him another clean cloth to hold to his nose which was almost done bleeding. He knew he would get a lecture from Hop Sing as soon as his father left.

"A simple answer would have been nice. I'm going out to talk with him."

"Pa, please don't."

"Don't presume to tell me what to do when there's trouble in my family especially with the way you've been acting lately."

By the time Ben got to the barn, he was as curious as he was angry. He saw Hoss and Joe and by Hoss' embarrassed expression, he knew that what Adam had said was true except there wasn't even a mark on Hoss.  
"Would you care to explain to me why your brother is sitting in the kitchen looking like a prize fighter who lost a five round bout, and you look just fine? I know he can box better than that."

"That's just it, Pa. He hit me when I said something that made him real mad, but then he didn't hit back. Joe says he said he was sorry, but I guess I didn't hear him. Pa, I was just so mad at him after what he did to Annie, I guess it just got to me too much."

"Pa, Adam said he asked Annie to marry him. She didn't accept his proposal and that's why he left. Is that true?"

"Joseph, I don't believe your brother is in the habit of lying. He may hold back telling us some things, but you know you can take his word as his bond."

"But, Pa, why wouldn't she say yes? You can tell how crazy she is about him."

"Perhaps that is none of your business. For the next several days, it would be advisable if the two of you would stay out of your brother's affairs. They're a big enough mess already without you two making things worse."

Walking back to the house, Ben thought he probably should have a talk with Adam as well, but when he got inside he found out from Hop Sing that Adam had gone to lie down because he had a terrible headache. He didn't come down for lunch which was as subdued as a funeral. He was there for dinner and Hop Sing served him a bowl of soup. Annie was shocked seeing the condition of his face not knowing what had happened. After Adam excused himself when he finished his soup, Ben waited until he turned the corner at the top of the stairs before telling a short version of the day's events to Annie. Ben also resolved to himself to have a talk with his oldest son the next day.

Chapter 6

In the morning as Adam exited his bedroom, Hoss was leaving his. Adam stopped and Hoss turned away to head downstairs.

"Hoss, I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry I hit you. I hope you can forgive me."

"For that little poke. Heck, I hardly felt it. Adam, I'm sorry for beating on you. It was uncalled for. I'm really sorry."

"It's all right. I guess I had it coming."

"Ya never said nothing against my Ma and I shouldn't have been crude talking about yours. Heck I never even met the woman."

"Ah, neither did I?"

"What, oh yeah. We're good then?"

Wrapping an arm around his big brother's shoulders, Adam nodded and the two went down to breakfast. Annie was already there with Ben so Adam said he wasn't hungry and headed out to the stables to do chores. Ben followed him and found Adam backing the horses out of the stalls so that he could muck them out. Ben sat on a bale of hay and watched his son for a bit wondering if he would say anything.

"Are you through playing the martyr yet?"

"I'm not playing the martyr."

"Of course you are. You think it's the same as the other times you opened your heart to a woman. She's not going to die like Sue Ellen. She's not going to run off with someone else like Laura did. She's right here because I asked her to stay to give you another chance."

Spinning around to face his father, Adam had a sharp response to that. "What good does another chance do? I asked her, and she said she couldn't say yes."

"Did she say no?"

"Well, it's the same thing."

"Is it? Or were you so ready to be rejected, that you assumed it was. You're smart enough to know better, but when it comes to love, I think you're the most childish of my boys."

"You've got to be kidding. That's the best you've got? I am not childish."

"Aren't you? You want love to be simple and pure like a child gets love from a parent at birth. Well, love with a woman isn't that easy. There are bumps in the road. You need to get over it, and ask her why she couldn't say yes."

There was silence then as Ben let Adam think it through. Adam handed his father a fork. "Do I get a tanning with this lecture?" There was a hint of a smile there, and Ben realized he had indeed penetrated that hard shell. "Pa, do you really think she loves me?"

"Adam, do you really think I would waste this wonderful lecture? I wouldn't have bothered unless I thought it was one of the most important things for your future. She loves you as much as I think a woman can before she is married. I think she's the kind of woman too whose love will grow as the two of you learn more about each other and share experiences. You're a lucky man to have found her. Now don't mess this up again. She's also a very strong woman and not about to take any more foolishness from you."

"Where is she?"

"Last I saw, she had her coat on and was walking behind the house."

Taking the hint, Adam walked in that direction. Ben took a deep breath, looked to heaven, and said a quick prayer. These two feisty people were going to need a bit of help from someone to be able to clear the air between them. Just when Ben was thinking there might be a resolution of this mess, he saw Jeremy come out of the bunkhouse to confront Adam. He threw Adam up against the wall of the bunkhouse and pinned him there. As Ben rushed to them, he heard Jeremy's threat.

"You go near my sister again, and I'll make what Hoss did to you look like child's play."

"Jeremy, listen to me. I think you should let Adam go talk with Annie and try to settle this between them. Honestly, Jeremy, I think it would be for the best if you would let that happen."

Unsure, but knowing that Ben had been a friend to the two of them ever since they got here, Jeremy relented and released Adam. "You better not hurt her, or what I said still stands."

"Understood. I won't hurt her. I promise."

With that, Jeremy stepped back and allowed Adam to continue to the back of the house. He found Annie there pacing and looking forlorn. When she saw Adam, she looked almost afraid.

"Adam, I can't do this. I told your father I would stay until New Year's Day, but this is just too difficult."

"Annie, tell me now why you couldn't say yes. I didn't give you a chance before, and I was wrong. I guess I thought you didn't love me, but if you didn't, you wouldn't feel so bad about how things are. So Annie, please talk to me. Tell me. Please?"

Looking at Adam and seeing the sincerity in his bruised and battered face, Annie decided they could talk.

"Adam, I was married before. It was a very brief marriage before my husband died in a typhoid outbreak that had took my parents as well. Adam, I was very sick. I had a very high fever for days and days. I was in bed for weeks. When I recovered, some things, woman things, just weren't the same any more, and the doctor told me that I probably wouldn't be able to have children. There have been a couple of men who said they wanted to marry me. As soon as I told them that, they lost interest. What man doesn't want his own family, heirs? That's why I couldn't say yes. I had to tell you this, and now you can walk away, but at least you know why, and it has nothing to do with you."

Stepping in close to Annie, Adam held out his arms. Annie stepped into his embrace and the two of them stood silently for several minutes just relishing the comfort of the arms of the other. Then Adam was ready to talk.

"That doesn't matter as much to me as you do. Yes, I would like to have children, but it's up to God, I guess. The doctor was guessing. He didn't know. He was just giving you fair warning. You're giving me fair warning, and Annie, it doesn't matter. I love you. I didn't fall in love with you because I thought you could have babies so I can't fall out of love with you if you can't. Can we start over? Can we spend time together and get to know one another better?"

Annie turned her face up to kiss Adam and hold him, but two negative things happened. One he said 'ouch' to her kiss. His lips, jaw, and cheek had not recovered from the pounding he had received from Hoss. The other was that Annie felt something sticky on her fingers when she wrapped her arms around Adam's neck and put her hand in the curls at the back of his head. When she pulled her fingers away, they were sticky with blood.

"Adam, what happened? You're bleeding."

"I didn't know I was bleeding, but your brother objected to my coming to see you. He pushed me up against the wall of the bunkhouse rather forcefully. I guess after the beating Hoss gave me, I didn't protect myself enough. We need to do something about those two men before one of them accidentally kills me."

"For now, let's just get you inside and cleaned up. Then I think you might need to lay down for a while."

After cleaning up the gash on the back of Adam's head, Annie and Adam walked together from the kitchen toward the stairs. Annie was going to walk Adam to his room. Seeing everyone sitting in the great room, Adam had one comment.

"Please, no one has a reason to hit me any more, I hope."

"Yes, and let's keep it that way unless I tell you he needs a good whupping."

Hoss started laughing then especially when he saw the look on Adam's face. Annie had put him in his place again. He decided if she could put up with him, he could too. Jeremy seemed to think the same thing as he started laughing too before he commented.

"Only lady I ever knew who could bust a mustang. Looks like she done it again."

That got everyone laughing and Adam couldn't climb the stairs fast enough. In his room, Annie kissed him again before he lay down, but he didn't release her hand. "Please, stay with me. We won't do anything, but just stay with me."

Annie nodded and Adam slid over on the bed so she could lay down next to him. He wrapped an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep. He was exhausted after the last few nights as was Annie who soon was asleep as well. The door was open and they were both fully clothed except for boots, but Ben was aghast when he saw them. He decided to say something later when Adam awakened. He didn't like Adam's answer.

"Pa, we were fully clothed and asleep. We did nothing wrong. I promised you years ago to abide by your rules inside this house. Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"

Ben had to admit the logic of Adam's statement but didn't like it.

"We won't do anything like it again if it bothers you so much, but you had to know how significant today was for us."

Ben did have to agree with that. For the next several days, life got back to a more normal and pleasant routine as Adam and Annie spent time talking and inevitably sparring with each other.

Chapter 7

On the night of the New Year's Eve party, Adam danced only with Annie. If she wasn't available because his father or brothers were dancing with her, he waited until she was free again. He held her in his arms tenderly for every waltz and held her firmly for the more boisterous dances. After more than an hour of that, she was exhausted. He grabbed their coats and escorted her out the front door.

"Why does this seem so familiar?"

"Perhaps because we did the same a week ago."

Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling Annie to him, Adam kissed her gently at first. He ran his hands up and down her back slowly as he pressed her closer to him.

"Now I was wondering if you had an answer for me that was different than a week ago, and I promise to stay right here and listen if you have something you need to say. If you can't say yes right now, I'll wait until you're ready to tell me that too. I know it's been a rough week, and I'll give you all the time you need. Just tell me what you're feeling."

Placing a finger gently over Adam's lips to stop his nervous talking, Annie looked into Adam's eyes and touched his face with her hands holding both of his cheeks. What she saw was a yearning there that she understood for she felt it too. "Yes, Adam, yes." Then they did kiss with a passion born of their love for one another and the difficulties they had experienced in the past week. They kissed and held each other close until they had to stop. With his hands situated once again on Annie's waist as her hands rested on his chest, Adam had a suggestion he was hoping she would consider.

"Annie, the minister is a guest here tonight. Would tonight be too soon to marry me?"

"Oh, my God, are you crazy?"

"Well, not according to my father but then he's probably prejudiced in my favor. No, I mean it. Your whole family is here. Mine's here. Why not?"

"I guess I never thought it would happen like this." Annie shook her head and tried to think of reasons not to do it. She couldn't think of any. "Yes, if you want to, yes. But what will your family think? Oh my, God, what will Jeremy think?"

"There's only one way to know. Let's go ask them."

Without giving Annie a chance to object, Adam wrapped an arm around Annie's waist and escorted her into the house. The music paused when the couple came in the door and stopped, and Ben looked to the couple. "Well?"

"She said yes."

"And?"

"And tonight is fine with her."

Congratulations and grins were all that met them then. Hop Sing brought out the champagne he had been told to chill and prepare to serve. Hoss and Jeremy gave Adam's slaps on the back that reminded him why he never wanted either of them to be angry with him. Suddenly Annie realized that Adam had orchestrated the whole thing. She whirled on him and demanded to know if he had in fact planned the whole thing.

"Did everyone here know you were going to ask me tonight?"

"Well, not all of them perhaps."

"I can't believe it. You never are spontaneous, are you?"

"Sweetheart, you must know me better than that by now. Would I do anything without thinking it through first and preparing?"

Shaking her head, Annie had to admit that was true. Adam pulled her into another kiss, and then the minister performed the wedding ceremony he had been warned by Adam might be expected of him this night. When the minister pronounced them husband and wife, and told Adam he could kiss the bride, he grinned and reached for her.

"You heard him. I have permission." And then Adam gave her a kiss that went well beyond the usual propriety of a first kiss of husband and wife. Annie whispered in his ear after he stopped.

"And now who needs a good spanking?"

Pointing at himself and acting as if he was innocent of everything, Adam got Annie to laugh. Then Ben was there to congratulate her as were her new brothers-in-law and her brother. The band began playing a waltz and Adam stepped out with Annie to dance, and then she danced with Ben, Hoss, Jeremy, and Joe before begging for a chance to sit for a time. She wasn't sure but she thought she hadn't stopped smiling for at least a half hour. Several people came in to say more snow was falling, and the guests hurriedly got their coats, hats, and scarves to head out and make sure they got home before the storm intensified. Ben and his sons made sure that everyone had enough carriage blankets and such before leaving, and then everyone left in a caravan so that should someone have trouble, the others would be there to help.

After the guests had left, and the room was cleaned up, Ben, Hoss, Joe, Jeremy, and Hop Sing said their goodnights. Adam and Annie stood alone in the great room with only the glow from the fireplace.

"I'm a little embarrassed to go upstairs now. They'll all know what we're doing."

"We're not going upstairs." Adam picked Annie up then and she wrapped her arms around his neck wondering what else he had planned. He took her to the downstairs guest room and pushed the door open. The fireplace had warmed the room, and candles illuminated the space. He carried her in, kicked the door closed, and sat on the bed with her in his lap. He began unbuttoning her dress as he planted light kisses on her neck and then her shoulder as he pulled the dress down a bit. She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers inside twirling them in the hair on his chest. She had wanted to do that since the first day she saw him lying in bed and that glorious chest had been exposed for her to see and admire.

"Sweetheart, not too much too fast. I want to enjoy the first time with you."

"You were pretty confident that I would say yes, weren't you?"

"Was there a chance you were going to say no?"

"Not a chance."

"And, yes, I was very much counting on that. It would have been difficult to sleep tonight if you had told me to wait."

"What if I told you to wait now?"

Stopping what he was doing and looking carefully at Annie's face, Adam waited to see what else she would say.

"Ha, gotcha!"

"You really do need a spanking now and then."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Not tonight. But one day you may push me too far."

"Why not tonight?"

"Because tonight is our wedding night, and I won't do anything to make you unhappy. I want you to remember this night fondly forever. Then when we have our anniversaries, no matter how badly I may have acted at times, I can always remind you of how good I was tonight."

"Are you always planning and thinking ahead? Do you ever just enjoy the moment, and let the pleasure of something wash over you and wipe everything from your mind?"

"Hmm, I'm willing to try that. But first there are a few obstacles to remove."

By then Adam had Annie's dress open and pulled it down to her waist before he stood her up and pushed the dress to the floor. Then he pulled up her chemise running his hands up her sides and up her arms as he pulled that off. She was standing there in just her lacy pantaloons. He took off his shirt, unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants dropping them to the floor as well. He lightly caressed her as he leaned down to kiss her. He hooked a thumb in each side of the pantaloons and pushed them slowly down her legs.

"I've been wanting to get inside these lace pantaloons since the first day we met."

"You were inside them the first day we met."

"Yes, but my hands were tied and I was trying to grab that little derringer you had hidden in there. That was quite clever by the way."

Annie smiled with the unexpected praise from Adam. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back onto the bed with him. He lay beside her then and explored her body sliding his hands from her shoulders down across her abdomen while gently kissing her neck and her shoulders.

"I knew you were lecherous. That's why I had to keep running away from you for the last two months."

"Until tonight."

"I got tired. You caught me at a weak moment."

"Do you want to change your mind? It's not too late to back out."

"No, mister, you're stuck with me now. Don't expect me to let you win at chess just because we're married. I'm not the type to sit back and act all domestic and such."

"Umm, would you like to lay back and let me love you the best I know how? There's been a lot of talking, and now it's time for a lot of loving."

Annie said nothing but was smiling. She had liked her husband, and he had been a decent man, but they had not been in love. Their time together in bed was all about satisfying his needs, and in the time that they had been together, he had never done anything like what Adam had done already tonight to bring her pleasure with his soft kisses and gentle touching. Usually her first husband had done what he wanted and then rolled over to go to sleep. Annie was being educated this night on how to enjoy a physical relationship as Adam asked her what she liked, and she said he could keep doing the things he was doing and more if he knew of anything else. He grinned and kissed her deeply again pressing their bodies together as he encouraged her to touch him as he was touching her. By the time Adam moved above her, she was ready for him. When they finished their lovemaking, he rolled to her side and held her close until his breathing and heart rate returned to something closer to normal.

"Oh my, is it going to be like that every night?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't take my time tonight. I ached for you. No, sweetheart, it's going to be better next time. Just wait, and I'll show you." Adam laid back and pulled Annie beside him. "Do you want to sleep a bit first?"

"Do you mean we will do more tonight?"

"Yes, it's our wedding night. It should be memorable."

"If we're going to sleep, shouldn't we put on some nightclothes?"

"I've never been a fan of them. They bunch up, and now they would also be in the way. If you're willing, just snuggle up close to me, and I'll pull the covers tightly around us. We'll be nice and warm."

Annie rested her head on Adam's shoulder then with her hand still on his chest, and he did as he said. She fell asleep hearing the steady beat of his heart and the soft slow breathing as he fell asleep as content as he could remember being in his life.

Chapter 8

"Hey, don't I get a ring? If you planned everything so well, why wasn't there a ring?"

"I did give you a ring. It's just that is a temporary ring until we can get to town and order you a proper one."

"It's plain wire you wove into a ring."

"I couldn't get a ring in less than a week regardless of whether I could have gotten to town or not. I could give you my mother's ring to wear if you wish, but I wanted to get you a ring that was from me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I really was just kidding and didn't mean to get you upset. This time."

Early in the morning on New Year's Day, Adam had awakened Annie when he slid out of bed to put wood on the coals in the fireplace. The room was small and probably could have been warmer, but they could hear the winds howling outside. A major winter storm had blown in on them after midnight. Now the newlyweds were snuggled down under the quilt and blankets wrapped in each other's arms and talking.

"Can we get a dog?"

"What? Where did that come from?"

"We had a dog when I was growing up. It was fun to have a dog. Then when my parents and Walter died, Jeremy and I started moving around and the dog got sick and died. I think it ate something it shouldn't."

"So you think it would be more like a home to have a dog? Well, we do have Joe. He likes to do tricks. He hasn't played any tricks on you yet because you were a guest, but now you're family so it's only a matter of time."

"What kind of tricks has he played on you?"

"He put some red dye in my bay rum. I didn't put it on my face because I saw the color on my hands, but I had red palms for weeks. Once, he put frogs in my chamber pot. I spilled and it was quite a mess to clean up. Hop Sing still hasn't forgiven him for that one. Hop Sing had to bring the rug to Virginia City to be cleaned. Pa wasn't any too happy either. Joe just looked sheepish, but inside I know he thought it was hilarious. I was just surprised he didn't find a way to watch me when I used it so he could see the look on my face. He pulled the necessary over once while Hoss was sitting in it. For me he tied a rope around it when I was in there so I couldn't get out. Then he went to town to have a drink. I was in there until dinner when Hop Sing needed eggs and came outside to hear me yelling. Oh, and now you're laughing. I suppose you're imagining it and thinking how funny that would be."

"Well, I was thinking I wouldn't mind doing something like that to him."

"That may be very funny to think about, but don't ever do it. Please?"

"Why not?"

"Pa gets very upset, and Joe will want to do about three more pranks to get even for one played on him. It just isn't worth it. The only pranks you can play on him are ones that he doesn't know are pranks."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm a little afraid to tell you. Isn't there something else we could do until everyone else is up and ready for breakfast?"

"Maybe, but it would have to be something very good, and of course very interesting to take my mind off this conversation."

Later, Adam and Annie had fallen asleep again and were awakened by noises from the kitchen as Hop Sing began to prepare breakfast. The room was considerably warmer and Annie was pleased to find that Adam had brought her clothing from the upstairs guest room and had brought an extra robe as well. He had a kettle of water by the fireplace so she had some warm water with which to wash.

"You can relax while I shave again, and then I'll dress and get out of your way. I'm not looking forward to going to the stable to do chores, but they have to get done."

Adam had shaved the night before so that he would not whisker burn his new wife. Annie had found out that he needed to shave twice a day or have significant stubble either in the morning or in the evening. She appreciated that he would do that for her. She watched as he shaved and dressed while she was still snuggled under the covers in the cocoon of body heat he had left behind.

"C'mon now, time for you to get out of bed. How about a kiss before I brave the terrible nasty storm out there?"

"You're only going a hundred feet."

"Yes but it will be a nasty terrible hundred feet. And then I have to come back through it all that nasty terrible snow again."

"I think you need to go try out for a part at Piper's Opera House. I'm sure they have a few tragic parts you can play."

With his hand to his heart as if he had been stabbed, Adam leaned down to kiss Annie before leaving. She slapped his posterior as he turned to go.

"Ah, wench, remember what I warned you about. You may earn yourself a spanking yet." Adam exited and closed the door before Annie had a chance to respond.

In the great room, Adam found Hoss bundling up for the trip to the stable.

"Thought you would be in bed yet since ya just got married last night."

"I'm giving her time to dress for the day. And I'll take care of her horse and mine. Now do you have a rope to tie to us?"

"Yeah, out in the washroom. I put some ropes there at least a week ago getting ready for when we had a storm. We'll string a line to the stable too so we can find our way back. You ready?"

As Ben got to the top of the stairs, Hoss and Adam were heading out into the maelstrom. Ben yelled for them to be careful, but with the wind howling, they never heard him. Ben was confident though that Hoss and Adam would take adequate precautions. He got a cup of coffee and waited at the window by his desk though even though he couldn't see more than about a dozen feet from the house. He started to get worried when an hour had passed, and they had not returned. Annie came out of the downstairs guest room, and Ben noted that she looked worried too so he did what he could to reassure her even though his own worry was unabated. Joe came downstairs and asked where Hoss and Adam were. There was no reply as both Ben and Annie just kept looking out the window. Joe grabbed a cup of coffee to warm up and began dressing to follow his brothers, and Ben came over to do the same. Just as they were about to brave the storm, the front door opened and two snow covered men stumbled in and then slammed the door shut.

"Damn, that's a nasty storm."

"Hoss, we have a lady present."

"Ah, sorry, Pa and Annie, but dadburnit, that storm done blew in part of the back wall of the stable. Adam and me been working to close off that opening, and we barely could feed the horses a bit and such before we had to head back here. We were getting too wet and cold."

"Yes, as soon as we can warm up and get some dry clothes, we need to head back. The repairs we made won't hold. I need some tools from the shed too, and some lumber if we can find some."

"How much do you need?"

"Pa, at least ten long boards, and a thicker beam if we can find one."

"Adam, Joe and I will get some hands and we'll go to the tool shed to get what we can. If necessary we'll take boards from the tool shed. Nothing in there will suffer from the snow. You and Hoss get warmed up."

Looking worried, Annie wanted to hug Adam but he was all wet. After he stripped off the wet coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, he tugged off his boots as well. He grabbed her hand then and led her up the stairs and to his room which was now their room.

"This will be our room now unless you want the guest room in the back to be our room. I need to get some dry clothing on. You can look around and see what you want to do, what you want to change, and bring your clothing and such up here. When I get back in later, we can find places for everything and you can tell me what you want to do."

Knowing that if Annie got busy, she would worry less, Adam was giving her plenty to do. He hoped the time would pass quickly enough for her. He finished putting on dry clothing and grabbed his heavier coat from the closet as well as another scarf and pair of gloves. Over it all, he was going to pull on a slicker because he knew he would have to do some hammering outside and the snow was heavy and wet.

"Whenever we get to town, we can buy some things too. First will be a ring for you, but we can get other things that you want. And before you say anything about a dog, we need to talk to Pa first. He has always been dead set against a dog here even when Hoss brought home the cutest puppy a few years ago."

As Adam prepared to leave to go do the work that was needed, he wrapped his arms around Annie and kissed her. He could see her eyes were glistening, but she put on her usual brave front.

"Don't you dare get hurt out there, mister. We have a few more things to do to celebrate being married."

"I'll be as careful as I can be. Hoss and the others will be helping."

Once Adam got downstairs, he could see Hoss was now dressed in heavier clothing too.

"Pa and Joe already headed out with some of the hands to the tool shed to get what you said we needed. They'll string a rope line from the house to the tool shed and then to the stable."

Following the rope line they had strung earlier, Adam and Hoss were soon in the stable. Snow was already blowing in openings in the temporary repairs. They got out the ladders and were ready when the others got there with lumber, a beam, nails, and other tools. They positioned the beam across the crossbeam that had cracked and secured it. Then they nailed the lumber across the temporary fix that Adam and Hoss had made. It was almost done in about an hour.

"I need to go outside and nail those boards to the new ones in here. Pile up some bales against this wall to help strengthen it and prevent the wind from blowing through."

"Adam, I can go help you."

"Hoss, it won't take long. I'll go out the tack room door so I'll tie off a rope there. It should take about the same time as you need to get a wall of hay bales up against this wall."

Soon, there were men in the loft lowering down hay bales to use, and they could hear hammering from the outside of the wall. Ben and Joe saw to the horses putting blankets over them because the stable was colder than usual with the wind and the snow that had blown in for part of the night. Straw was added to the small chicken coop that was in the stable over the winter so they could tell Hop Sing that his chickens were safe. There was suddenly a loud thump against the stable wall, and all were relieved when the wall held with no cracking or give. The worry was that they no longer heard the hammer, and after a few minutes when Adam did not return, Hoss and Ben rushed outside following the rope line Adam had used. They found the rope under a large branch that had fallen from a tree because it had become so weighted down with the heavy snow. Hoss rushed to the opposite side of the branch and saw the yellow slicker under the spreading branches.

"Pa, go inside and get everyone quick. We gotta lift this off of him."

Reaching down to start pulling the snow away from Adam, Hoss was relieved when Adam reached for his hand. He cleared more snow away until he could kneel right by Adam's head.

"How bad are you hurt?"

"I don't think I'm hurt too bad at all. The snow cushioned me and I can feel everything, but there's too much weight pressing me down. I can't move."

"We'll get ya outta there in just a bit. Pa went to get everyone to help."

Some of the smaller branches had to be cut away from the larger branch so that they could grab hold of it. In less than fifteen minutes, they were ready to lift as Ben stood by ready to pull Adam out. It worked just as they had planned it. Adam had trouble walking so Hoss and Ben helped him into the stable. There they closed everything up and made sure there were no more problems and then headed to the house. It was clear that the men would have to clear some of the snow off the roofs too so there wouldn't be any collapses. Ben gave those orders to be carried out as soon as the men were warmed up again as they headed into the bunkhouse. As they got to the house, the door was flung open and Annie was there looking scared. The snow was beginning to diminish, and she had seen them helping Adam walk to the house.

"What happened?"

"Sweetheart, it's nothing to be worried about. I got knocked down. I'll be fine. Just a few bruises."

"Then why can't you walk?"

"I probably could, but it's a lot easier this way." Adam grinned trying to alleviate Annie's worry but not very successfully. Once Hoss got Adam to their room, Ben and Hoss were a bit at a loss as to what to do. Adam settled it. "Annie can help me now. Thank you." It seemed weird to Ben especially not to be helping a son who was hurt. He had just realized how much had changed because of Adam's marriage.

After about a half hour, Annie came down the stairs with a pile of wet clothing and a yellow slicker. "He was right. Nothing serious, but he has some very nasty bruising on his back and shoulder. He's going to be very stiff and sore I think. Right now he's cold and hungry."

Almost as if he had been cued, Hop Sing appeared with a tray. He had soup, coffee, and warm biscuits fresh from the oven. Annie took the tray thanking Hop Sing profusely, and Hop Sing took the wet clothing looking at the other Cartwrights as if to say that was how they should be with him. Ben was thinking that exact thought, and thanked Hop Sing as well for helping so much. Hop Sing smiled then, and Ben knew all would be well for a time.

Upstairs, Annie sat at the side of the bed as Adam had his lunch. She had a funny smile so Adam asked what she was thinking. He put his tray on the table and looked at her.

"What's funny? You have this cute little grin."

"I think this was pretty much where I came in about two months ago. You were banged up and lying in bed with no clothes on."

"Yes, and I asked you to kiss me or climb into bed with me, and you got angry. I am sorry about that. I was just teasing."

"How about now?"

"Now?"

"Well, you could ask the same thing now."

"Would I get the same answer?"

"You should try it and find out."

Chapter 9

"May I stay and watch?"

"Adam Cartwright, please get your sorry posterior out of my dress shop. That is no way to speak in front of a lady."

"I'm so sorry, Madame Fourier. I was most neglectful of my manners to speak so boldly in your presence. Consider me properly chastened." The lack of remorse was all too evident in the grin he could not hide.

"Just get on out of here. Your wife and I have much to do."

Grinning even more broadly, Adam left Annie in the capable hands of Michelle Fourier even if he knew Annie was going to blast him later for his insouciance. It was fun though baiting her like that and then waiting to see what she would come up with as a response. Behind his back as he left the dress shop, both ladies were smiling and shaking their heads.

"Madame Cartwright, is he always like that?"

"Yes, always."

"Madame, you are a lucky woman to have such a wonderful and oh so handsome man completely entranced by you."

Nodding in agreement and chatting about marriage and men, the two ladies began looking over fabric for dresses, and some dresses that were already made. Adam had told Michelle that there was no limit on his wife's purchases as he wanted her to have a proper wardrobe for winters in the high Sierras and then lighter wear for spring and summer. Jeremy and Annie had been expecting to spend the winter in California, and neither of them had the proper clothing for a cold snowy winter. Jeremy had been easier to accessorize with some of Hoss' old things, and then both Hoss and Jeremy had gone into the mercantile to buy some new items as well. Annie had at first objected to what Adam had told Madame Fourier saying that she didn't want him spending so much.

"It's for my benefit as much as yours, Annie. I get to see you in some pretty new things I hope, and then I get to help you out of them at night. No expense is too great for that pleasure."

"You are just awful sometimes."

"Do you want me to stop telling you how much I appreciate your beauty and your physical charms? I would hate to have to do that."

"Well, I guess it would be all right as long as you can stop doing that in front of your father. I don't think he likes it much."

"No, he probably doesn't. All right, not in front of my father. Now will you buy some new things while I have you here in the dress shop? Hoss and Jeremy are going to be buying a lot of things too. We'll load as much as we can in the sleigh and they'll take rest in the wagon."

"Is that why you said we couldn't all fit in the sleigh?"

"Yes, I wanted to be sure there was plenty of room for the purchases we make. You do remember how large our brothers are?"

"Why the sleigh and wagon then instead of the large carriage?"

"The carriage wheels are narrow, and we don't have anything to outfit it for the snow. We've never had a reason to use it in the snow. We've always used the sleigh or the wagon. Now Michelle will help you, and then afterward we can go to the jeweler to get a ring for you."

"Yes, Madame Cartwright, come with me and we shall do some fittings."

And that's when Adam made the comment that got him kicked out of the dress shop. He headed to the mercantile for he had some purchases he wanted to make there as well, and then he was going to the saddlery to order a new saddle made for his wife. He was enjoying this winter more than he could remember since his youth. As he walked, he saw Roy Coffee up ahead. Roy was always aware of what was going on around him and waited for Adam to catch up to him.

"Well, congratulations. I heard you made things right with that pretty lady of yours and got married to boot."

"Yes, we did. We're having lunch later at the International House. I would like you to join us if you have the time."

"I'll make the time. A sheriff needs to have lunch too."

"Good, then we'll see you there. I'm going over to the bank and then I have a few other errands to run. We'll meet you there."

"Now I hope you ain't carrying too much cash around. There have been a lot of robberies lately with so many miners and cowhands out of work. Mostly it's been small stuff, but you could present a very nice target for someone."

"I'll be careful but with Annie at the dress shop, and then we need to get her a ring, I do need to be carrying a large amount. I'll be as discreet and careful as possible. Maybe I can get Hoss and Jeremy to walk over to the bank with me."

"Sounds like a good plan. Now are those two eating through your winter stores at a record pace?" Roy had quite a grin then thinking about how much those two big men could eat.

"We're going to have to butcher a couple more steers this winter just to feed the two of them because, I swear I think they're still trying to impress each other with how much they can eat. Well I suspect you'll see a good example of that at lunch. Can we meet you there about noon?"

After getting Roy's agreement to that, Adam continued on to the bank and then went to the mercantile. He alerted Hoss and Jeremy that he had been warned by Roy to be careful carrying money because of so many robberies in town. Hoss decided that the two of them ought to walk with Adam.

"I don't need a nursemaid. I was just letting you know that there might be a problem."

"Way I see it, older brother, is that ifn the two of us is with you when you go collect your wife and all her packages, then there won't be any problem. We'll all just stick together until we leave. He didn't say nothing about no bushwhacking outside of town now did he?"

"No, and that's a good thing. Pa asked me to bring money for the payroll too. I'm carrying a lot right now. I'm going to the saddlery before we have lunch, and then Annie and I will be going to the jeweler's after lunch. Originally I thought we could do it before lunch, but it's already eleven."

"All right then, we'll go to the saddlery with ya. Jeremy's gonna need a few things ifn he's gonna be working the upper pastures and the spring drive. Old Tobias ought to be able to make him a nice pair of chaps."

So the three men walked to the saddlery and made their orders for goods. Unknown to them, they had been overheard because one man had followed Adam from the bank. Knowing it was a Cartwright, he and his friends had assumed he would have money on him. Now they knew he would be carrying the payroll so the man hurried back to his friends.

At the dress shop, Adam went inside as Hoss and Jeremy headed to the International House across the street. It was unlikely anything would happen so close to the center of town and amidst all the people there, and the two men were not at all comfortable going into a dress shop. Inside the shop, it was quite warm so when Madame Fourier said it would be a few minutes yet, Adam took off his coat and sat in a chair near the door. Soon the two ladies came out carrying several dresses.

"Adam, which of these dresses do you like the best? I thought the green dress was the best but Michelle likes the brown corduroy with the lace blouse top."

"What about the striped one?"

"I thought it was pretty, but it's a little fancy for everyday use but looks best with an apron on. So which one do you think I should get?"

"All of them."

"Well, I can't get all of them."

"Why not? Madame would you be so kind as to pack those up for us? And did you make sure she had enough of the other lady's things she will need?"

"Yes, indeed, Monsieur Cartwright, I did as you asked. The riding skirts and blouses that you asked for will be ready in a few weeks. And Madame has fabric to make more dresses."

"That's excellent. Would you write up the total please?"

Madame Fourier asked Adam if he could stand on the chair and get some boxes down from the top shelf. He did but had to stretch to reach them, and he felt the bruised muscles in his back and shoulder complaining about being stretched out like that. It was only a few days since he had been trapped under a snow laden heavy branch that had fallen on him. As he climbed down from the chair though, he almost blushed with what he heard.

"Very true, then, Madame Cartwright. It certainly does resemble a nice ripe peach like those we get from California. Very firm but luscious I would think."

As Annie answered affirmatively, she couldn't keep the glee from her voice. With her grin, Adam knew she had just scored one for her side. He grabbed his coat and asked if they had packages he could take to the sleigh. Chuckling, both ladies pointed to packages stacked on the counter near the door. As he left with the packages, he could hear their laughter. He was thinking that he needed to do something soon about her embarrassing him like that but at the moment had no ideas. As Adam got back to the shop, they were ready with the dresses that were boxed up by then so he took those to the sleigh and then walked back to collect his wife and take her to lunch.

"I thought we were going to the jeweler's next?"

"It got a little later than I thought so we'll have lunch first. Hoss, Jeremy, and Roy Coffee are waiting for us."

As Adam and Annie entered the restaurant, they saw their brothers and Roy already enjoying coffee. As they joined the group, Paul Martin came into the restaurant, and Adam invited him to join them for lunch. As Adam accepted the congratulations on being married, Annie smiled and placed her hand on his thigh. He picked up her hand in his and kissed as she smiled demurely at him. Adam loved the fact that she had no idea what her touch could do to him and that she wanted to be close to him seeking his reassurance with these two men she didn't know very well yet. Lunch was pleasant and all of them marveled at how much Hoss and Jeremy could eat. Adam's comments about it got chuckles from everyone except the two big eaters.

"Now, older brother, you wouldn't be so puny ifn you was to eat like us. You could use some meat on those bones."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Adam signaled the waitress.

"Could you tally up the total for me before these two behemoths order more food?"

"Aw, Adam, I was hoping for dessert. They got some right nice pies and I done told Jeremy that we could have some with lunch."

"You can have some but it's on your tab. Annie and I have another errand to run, and I want to head home soon so that we're there before the sun sets."

Chapter 10

After settling the bill at the restaurant, Adam escorted Annie from the restaurant and down the street to the jeweler's shop. One man followed them from the hotel, and two others converged from opposite directions. Adam and Annie were in the shop before the three men got together. They were frustrated by that, but quickly conferred and came up with an alternate version of their original plan. One by one, they entered the jeweler's shop. Adam paid no mind to the first man who entered even though he wasn't dressed as one would expect a customer who was buying jewelry. He pulled off his hat and held it in his left hand and asked the owner if he had any work and that made Adam relax. Soon another man entered and then a third. Neither looked like they were the type to be buying fine jewelry. They were greeted by the first man who told them there was no work for them there, but Adam felt the hairs on his neck stand up and loosened the small leather strap that held his pistol in the holster.

"Don't move, Cartwright! We know you got a passel of cash on ya. Just hand it over and nobody has to get hurt."

The three men drew as if on a signal, and Adam didn't have time to react. Adam tried to maneuver to get Annie behind him, but the man who had spoken saw that and had a new set of orders.

"You just hold up there. Turn around and don't move anywhere. Now, put your hands on the counter and move your feet back so's you're leaning. Ya like to lean as I recall."

Once Adam was leaning his weight on his hands which were on the counter, the leader of the little group told one of the others to grab his pistol.

"Now, little lady, you just reach inside his coat and pull out that envelope with the money. Then hand it over to me."

Stepping up next to Adam, Annie reached inside his coat and pulled out the envelope, but he felt a weight in his pocket after she did that so he knew she had dropped the derringer from her purse into his pocket. He went to stand up after she handed the money over, and no one seemed to object. Annie stood behind him then when he pressed her arm just a little to indicate to her what he wanted.

"All right, we got the money, now how we gonna get out of here with it? He'll be after us as soon as we walk out this door."

The leader of the small gang looked thoughtful for just a moment. "We'll take her with us. Ifn he follows us, we'll shoot her in the head."

The other two men looked shocked at that, and Adam looked furious. As the leader moved toward Annie who was standing behind Adam, Adam reached out to stop him. The man swung his hand with the pistol and hit Adam with the butt end of it. Adam went down to his knees then. As he did so, he pulled the derringer from his pocket and shoved it into the belly of the man who had hit him.

"What you gonna do with that little thing? You can't get all of us with that."

"No, but I can get you and you'll die real slow bleeding out if you're lucky, or from a gut infection if you aren't. Now you two, if you don't want that for your friend here, get out of here now."

"Go, do as he says. Just make sure you got the money, and remember that I'll be wanting my share." The two men left. Adam stood then with the derringer still in the other man's gut and the other man still had a pistol in his hand. "So we got ourselves a standoff, don't we?"

"Annie, go behind the counter and get down."

"Adam, ..."

"Just do it!"

Scrambling quickly to do as Adam commanded, Annie was soon out of sight.

"Now you can leave. But don't even think of coming back in here. If anything happens to my wife, there won't be a place on earth where you can hide. Get out!"

Walking the man to the door, Adam only pulled the derringer away as the man turned to leave. Then he slammed the door so he could not return. Adam picked up his pistol from the floor and walked to the counter. "You can come out now."

"Yes, Your Excellency. Who gave you the rights to make all the decisions?"

"Annie, some situations are just not meant for discussion. I had to protect you."

"Well, I protected myself pretty well before I met you. I was the one who still had a gun after they took yours away."

"There's wasn't time to discuss a plan with you. Sometimes I just need you to listen to me."

"What you mean is that you want me to just do as ordered. Well I'm not going to do that, and you better get used to the idea."

"Annie, let's not argue about this. Let's just go tell the sheriff. I'm sure those men are well on their way out of town by now."

"Well maybe I want to talk about it now. You just ordered me around like what I thought didn't matter."

"Sweetheart, there are just some times when a husband wants to protect his wife. As a man, I have to do that. I hope you understand that. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't protect you and you got hurt. I can't ever let you be hurt if I can do anything about it."

"Oh I know you meant well. It just hurt to be ordered around like that."

"Better that than what they were talking about doing."

With a pout on, Annie walked to the door and pulled it open. It didn't last long because as she stepped outside, she had to grin. Adam did the same when he stepped outside because there were Hoss, Roy, and Jeremy with all three men in custody. Roy was collecting their firearms as Hoss and Jeremy held their pistols on them. Roy grabbed the envelope of money from one of the men too.

"Well, now, older brother, I see you're just fine. We heard some fireworks going off in there and hoped you would still be all right."

"How did you manage to do this?"

"Well, now, you see, we saw you and Annie walk into the shop, and then these three walked in one by one, and you gotta admit they don't look like the jewelry buying type. How come you didn't see that right away? You must have been distracted by something, I suppose."

With a bit of a scowl at Hoss, Adam responded before turning to his wife. "Well, Hoss, if you have this well in hand, Annie, would you like to go back in and order that ring I promised you?"

"Well, thank you, Adam, so much for asking instead of telling me. Yes, please, that would be nice." The couple went back into the store to talk with the nervous owner.

Chuckling, Hoss took the envelope of money that Roy had gotten from the robbers, and walked to the store. Adam must have been very distracted to forget that. Jeremy helped Roy shepherd the three men to the jail. Inside the jeweler's shop, Adam and Annie couldn't decide on a ring. He wanted to spend a lot more than she wanted him to spend, and then there were disagreements over the type of stone and how many. Finally the ring was ordered, and everyone could head for home.

"Older brother, do you have to argue with Annie over everything?"

"No, Hoss, there are some things we don't argue about at all. But on everything else, it's not arguing. We're both free to state our opinions, and sometimes we don't agree with each other."

"Sure sounds like arguing." Hoss knew he wouldn't be comfortable in such a relationship. He liked a more demure gentle woman. But he remembered something Joe had said Adam told him once that he liked his friends, his horse, and his lady to have a bit of an edge to them for it made them more interesting. Hoss wasn't so sure about some of Adam's choices of friends, but with Annie and Sport, he certainly did seem to enjoy the tempestuous relationship. Then he remembered Margarita and how well she and Adam got along after all that fighting for they were the best of friends now. He just shook his head and snapped the reins to send the wagon home. He watched Adam and Annie on the seat of the sleigh ahead of him. They snuggled close to each other with a blanket over their legs. Annie had her arm wrapped around Adam's arm, and their two heads were close together so it was easy to see they were engaged in conversation. Next to him on the wagon seat, Jeremy saw the same thing.

"Adam is so different from her first husband. I thought Annie was all right with that marriage, but I gotta say, I ain't seen her this happy since we were kids. Adam is really good for her."

"You know, Jeremy, I could say just about the same thing for Adam. I wasn't so sure about the two of them with all the arguing and such, but he seems more relaxed than I can ever remember him. She's really good for him too."

In the yard of the Ponderosa, Joe came out to help carry in packages. Hoss was going to tell him to keep the packages separate, but Annie quickly shushed him and told Joe to just hurry to get them in the house because she was cold. Jeremy volunteered to take care of the horses as a gesture of thanks for the trip into town and the new clothes. Hoss and Adam followed Annie into the house knowing that she was up to something.

"Hoss, could you help Adam take these dress boxes up to our room please? Joe, could you bring the rest of my packages up too?"

Hurrying to do as she asked because they wanted to see what she was up to, Hoss and Adam both paused at the top of the stairs as Annie reached them there. She had them move down the hallway a bit and then told them to wait a moment before peeking around the corner. Downstairs Joe was just staring at the stack of packages. He looked up at Annie at the top of the stairs.

"Annie, how do I know which ones are yours?"

"Oh, dear, they're all mixed up now. You'll have to open them up to see what's inside. The ones with lady things are mine."

Then Annie joined Hoss and Adam down the hall. Quietly and slowly they crept back to the corner to watch Joe. One by one, Joe opened the packages. The first one was lacy pantaloons that he hurriedly stuffed back in the wrapping. The second was a gown and robe that he pulled out and admired before replacing in the package. He did have a bit of a flush on his face by then. The third were petticoats and chemises that he couldn't get back in the package fast enough. He did open a package with wool plaid workshirts, but the next package held a soft corset which made Joe's face turn even redder. What made the whole thing better for Annie and the others was that Ben had come out from the kitchen with a cup of coffee, stopped, and watched Joe as he opened each package.

"Son, is there something you would like to tell me? You do seem to have quite a fascination with ladies' undergarments."

Annie chose that moment to lead Hoss and Adam back to the top of the stairs to see Joe surrounded by open packages of Annie's clothing, and Ben standing there with a mock frown waiting for Joe's reaction. Joe stuttered and stammered and said it was all Annie's idea.

"Joe, I had no idea you would paw through my things. I thought you could just tear open a corner to see what was inside."

Hoss and Adam had to sit on the stairs as they started laughing gleefully at Joe's discomfiture.

"I gotta go outside and help Jeremy with the horses. Annie, now you can see which ones are yours here. No need to thank me. I'll just get going."

As Joe grabbed his hat and jacket, Hoss and Adam started laughing even more especially with the hasty exit and the door slamming shut.

"Adam, you done got yourself a right smart one there. Joe didn't know what hit him!"

"I know, Hoss, and whatever you do, never play a trick on her. She's enjoying this a lot more than we are."

By then, Ben understood what had happened and was chuckling too. The best pranks to play on Joe were always the ones he didn't know were pranks. Ben looked over at Annie and gave her a theatrical bow. It was good to have a lady in the house. She had tamed his oldest son's wanderlust, brought in a good friend for his middle son, and was more than a match for his youngest and his pranks. Life was a lot more interesting with Annie on the Ponderosa.

Slander

Chapter 1

"Yes, I visited her, but I didn't get in her bed. I have lots of friends who are women, and I don't sleep in their beds either."

"Did you ever take her to bed?"

By Adam's look, Annie didn't need the answer. "I'm thirty-four years old. You don't really think you were the first woman I was with?"

"No, but it's this woman's husband who's making all these claims about you. What are you going to do about it?"

"I was with her before she was with Dave. They've been married over a year. There is no possibility that is my child."

"Hoss said that people were talking about you seeing her when she was married."

"I have never had relations with a woman who was married or even betrothed despite the rumors. I don't know that there is much I can do about this situation. I did visit her once when Dave wasn't home. I did it on purpose because I wanted to warn her off from someone she was after before the situation became too messy. I can't tell people that without exposing that man. But if I only deny having relations with her, it will seem that I protest too much, and that will only make people think I did. It's the old rock and a hard place. I can't win."

"Who was she after, and why did you think you had to do something about it?"

Sighing, Adam just looked at her. He wanted to tell her and knew he shouldn't. The fewer people who knew, the better it would be for everyone, but she was his wife and he trusted her implicitly. "Annie, I don't want to tell you and involve you in this, but I do trust you and I trust your judgment which would be helpful perhaps at this point. I have to tell you that it is someone very close to both of us, and that if this story gets out, it could hurt a lot of people. Do you think you want the responsibility of carrying this secret which you cannot divulge for any reason?"

"So are you saying that someone very close to us is the father of her baby?"

"Quite possibly that's true. Oh hell, I'm guessing it's probably true. Look, Dave Anderson is blond and blue eyed and so is his wife. Both are very fair, but their baby has dark curly hair, dark eyes, and darker skin tones than either parent. Dave had to know as soon as that baby was born, that it wasn't his. I had hoped he would be so happy to have a son that he wouldn't make an issue of it, but apparently others noticed and started talking. Now Dave feels he has to do something to preserve his honor even if it means soiling his wife's reputation beyond repair and saddling his son with the notoriety."

"Well, it can't be Hoss. If it was Hoss, no one would have known because he has that fair skin and light blue eyes. So that leaves only a couple of others. Let me think about this for a time. We can talk about it again after we get home."

Riding in the buckboard to town, Adam and Annie had a chance to talk privately that they seldom had at home except in their bedroom. When they had been about to leave, Hoss had asked Adam if he had warned Annie about the stories that were going around, and that there might be some pointed comments in town. So as they drove in, Adam explained what had been going on and why he had not wanted to go to town recently and had in fact skipped church services the past two Sundays. Normally after a winter spent snowbound, Adam couldn't wait to go to town and to go to church services to see people, to sing, and to generally enjoy the amenities a town offered. Now his reluctance to do anything like that made sense to Annie.

"So we've been cooped up on the ranch this spring because you didn't want me to know about this?"

"No, it was more that I didn't want you to be exposed to ugly things people might say. I'm hoping that by me keeping a low profile, Dave will cool down and this whole ugly episode can be closed."

"You don't really think that's going to happen, do you? As soon as people see you in town, they're going to be talking."

"I'm hoping we can get a look at those puppies that Paul has, you can pick one, and then we can run our errands. The sooner we get out of town the better."

"What about lunch?"

"I'll order a basket from the restaurant. We can have a picnic."

"Is that why you put those blankets in the wagon? I did think they were rather nice ones for a puppy."

"The basket with the rags in it is for the puppy if you want one. The blankets are for us. When we were talking about fantasies, I believe you said something about being outside under the blue sky with puffy white clouds and the sun shining. Well, today could be your day."

"That won't work."

"What won't work?"

"You won't get my mind off of our conversation by promising to seduce me on a picnic in a meadow later."

"Well, it was worth a shot. Now, can we just try to do things quickly together in town?"

"It's important that I'm with you and that we aren't fighting, isn't it?"

"Well that would certainly help although most of what people think is fighting are really just our spirited discussions."

"I'll try to behave myself today. We can look all lovey dovey if you want."

"That might be stretching it a bit far. People are used to us talking a lot. We shouldn't stop entirely, but it would be nice to tone it down a little probably so we don't add anything to the rumors."

"I can do that. I think."

Shaking his head, Adam snapped the reins to speed up the team now that they had talked. Once they were in town, Adam and Annie stopped first at Paul Martin's house. He had gotten a dog not realizing it was going to have a litter. It was some kind of shepherd breed of dog which he had gotten from a sheepherder for helping his wife in an especially difficult delivery. The man had little cash and had paid with a dog and a sheep. Paul sold the sheep and was giving away the puppies, but did like the dog very much and was keeping her. He thought she would be good company as he traveled about to ranches and farms. Paul greeted them as soon as they drove up.

"I waited assuming you would be on time, but I have to go. Mrs. Jenkins is having her baby. Her oldest rode in a half hour ago. You can find the puppies inside. Take any one you want. None are spoken for yet."

"Yes, Paul, we can do that. Anything we can do for you?"

"If you could the dog out in the back, that would be nice. Just bury whatever she does. Shovel is by the back door. Thank you, and I've gotta go."

Saying their goodbyes, Adam and Annie went inside to see the puppies and take the mother out back to do her business. It took a lot longer than they had expected. Annie couldn't decide and wanted two puppies.

"Pa said he could tolerate one. That was a big concession from him. We can't take two with us. He'll blow."

"But one will be so lonely."

"With you, Hoss, Joe, and me, I doubt that very much. One will be fine. Now you have to choose so we can go do the rest of our errands. Unfortunately by now, everyone must know we're in town, so better get your defenses up. It could get ugly."

Getting ugly didn't take long. Adam surprised Annie with a visit to the saddlery and picked up her new saddle that had been custom made by Tobias for her. Old Tobias was very pleased with all the compliments Annie gave him about her new saddle. As they walked outside to put it in the wagon, both of them could see that they were getting a lot of stares.

"Well, into the breech. Let's head over to the mercantile to get that list of supplies and then to the restaurant for our lunch order."

There were inaudible whispers as they got down from the wagon in front of the mercantile. Adam took Annie by the waist to help her down and held her close.

"Now, no matter what is said, please do not react. We need to get out of town without any more trouble."

"You think it's going to be that bad?"

"Those ladies are unlikely to say anything to me, but as soon as my back is turned, they'll try to spear you. Just be ready and stay calm."

Handing a list to the proprietor, Adam noted that the ladies who had been in the store had all gathered in a group in the back of the store. He wanted to grab Annie and haul her out of there over his shoulder when he saw her meandering around the store and getting closer and closer to the gaggle of gossips.

"My dear, we're so sorry to hear what your husband did. You have our most sincere sympathy."

"What Adam did? He got me a puppy and a new saddle. Next he's taking me on a picnic, so I don't know what you've heard, but there's certainly nothing to be upset about."

"Well, my dear, we were talking about that story about him and Mrs. Anderson. Tis a shame, it really is."

"Yes, I suppose that's true." All the ladies leaned forward ready to relish any tidbit they could get. "It's so shameful and sad really that a man would say those things about his wife and beautiful baby. I know none of you fine ladies would ever repeat such a terrible lie. Well, good day to you. It looks like Adam is ready to go. See you all in church on Sunday, I hope."

Listening and watching, Adam was torn between anger and pride. Pride won. Annie had taken a big gamble but had handled it well. He was going to have to accept that she was never going to do everything he told her to do and would have to trust that she would handle herself as well as she had just done.

It was a quick trip to the restaurant to get some food for a picnic. Stares followed them wherever they went, but Annie was more concerned about how quiet Adam was. She thought she may have angered him too much with her behavior in the store. Then she started thinking she had done just fine, and he shouldn't be angry at all. By the time they reached the Ponderosa and headed to a meadow for a picnic, Annie was angry.

"How dare you be so angry with me over a little comment I made in the mercantile. It was exactly what those ladies needed to hear. Now why are you so upset?"

Turning toward Annie after having been lost in thought for the best part of an hour, Adam smiled which really made Annie confused.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because you're right and you're wrong. I'm not mad at all. I was just thinking a lot, and you weren't saying anything either so I thought perhaps you needed some time to think too. You did a great job with those ladies. An economy of words and you fired both barrels point blank."

"You're not mad that I didn't do what you told me to do?"

"I wanted to be mad, but I married you knowing exactly what you're like. I wouldn't change you for all the gold in the world. You'll just have to pardon my occasional scowl or frown because you do have a habit of surprising me, sweetheart. I am definitely not used to being with a woman who makes her own decisions. It will take some getting used to."

Tossing his hat in the back of the wagon, Adam pulled out two blankets and spread them on the grass pushing the tall fresh stems down to make room. Then he pulled Annie into an embrace and as he kissed her, he began unbuttoning her dress.

"Adam, we can't do anything here. We're right out in the open."

"There's no one within a mile of here. We're on the Ponderosa. Anyone who sees this wagon will know it's us and give us some privacy, I hope. The puppy is asleep and the horses never tell."

The rest of the argument diminished as clothing was discarded and kisses and touches finally replaced words. About an hour later, Hoss and Joe rode to the crest of a hill nearby.

"Hey, Hoss, isn't that our wagon?"

"Yep, that's ours all right."

"Well where are Adam and Annie?"

"Joe, the grass in these meadows is only a foot or two tall, right? And you can't see them, right? Where do you think they are?"

"Oh, so we better not ride over to say hello."

"Nah, it would embarrass Annie too much. But we can sure rib Adam about it later."

Laughing, the two brothers rode for home.

Chapter 2

In the stable at the Ponderosa as they groomed their horses, Hoss and Joe were talking and got around to the rumors about Adam being the father of the Anderson baby.

"Hoss, do you think it could be true? Do you think Adam is that baby's father? Everyone who has seen the baby says it looks like him."

"The baby had dark curly hair, dark eyes, and darker skin than his mama and papa. That don't make him Adam's son. Adam says it ain't so it ain't."

"You're sure of that?"

"Joe, no matter how many times you and Adam been at each other, has he ever lied to you? Nope, if he says it ain't his, then it ain't."

"Well, Hoss, I wonder who it could be then. Adam didn't really answer that when I asked him. He said something about how could anyone know for sure. You know how he always talks about something else when he doesn't want to answer."

"Yeah, I know. I had the same feeling. But I gotta believe that ifn he ain't saying, it's because he's got a good reason."

"He must know who it is then or have a pretty good suspicion. Now I'm wondering why he won't say who he thinks it might be."

"Hey, Joe, maybe he thinks it's you, and he's trying to save you from a world of hurt. Dave Anderson is a big guy. He could really pound on you."

"Hoss, she never liked me and you know it. She always blamed me for her and Adam breaking up. I'm not sure why. All I did was tell Adam I saw her kissing Dave Anderson when she was supposed to be Adam's gal." Joe started snickering.

"Yeah, Joe, she's pretty and all, but there's something about her that just ain't right. It's like she likes men fighting over her. I wouldn't be surprised that she started some of those rumors herself just to see if Dave would beat on Adam for it. She's probably still mad that Adam dumped her almost two years ago."

"Well, and Dave ought to know that too. He was the one who was with her when she was supposed to be Adam's gal. He knew she cheated when he married her. I guess he thought marriage might end it. Hey, do you suppose Laura cheats on Will like she cheated on Adam because you know there are stories about Will catting around too? He could be trying to get even."

"Don't know and it ain't none of my business. Will was with Laura when she was supposed to be Adam's gal so it could just be the way he is too. I just wish I could find one gal. That's hard enough without thinking about having more than one. Boy howdy, that has got to be a mess to be in."

"Well ever since Adam brought Annie into the family, I've been thinking more and more that I would like to get married." At Hoss' shocked look, Joe had to continue. "I know, I know. It's been a lot of fun seeing one girl after another, but when I think about Adam and Annie out there today and realize just a trip to town could end up in a little romance, well then I wish I had something like that too."

"Takes a lot less energy than all that chasing around to, don't it?"

"Hey, Pa probably ought to look too. There's lots of ladies who wouldn't mind being Mrs. Ben Cartwright."

"Yeah, but don't you wonder about those rides he takes and comes back hours later looking like he was working on something. I gotta wonder if Pa ain't already seeing somebody."

"Wonder who that could be? Candy's been pretty secretive lately too about his activities. Wish I knew what everyone was up to."

"Sometimes I think that, and sometimes I think it might be better if I didn't know."

The sounds of the wagon coming in the yard were heard by both brothers then. They stood in the shadows of the stable and watched Adam help Annie down from the wagon. She never minded Adam taking the dominant role in situations like that. It was nice having him right there to help and there was often a kiss involved. This time was no different. Thinking they were unobserved, the couple stood by the wagon for a moment and kissed and Adam's hands were sliding down Annie's back. Whistles from the stable broke them apart before any impropriety could be observed. Reaching into the back of the wagon and scowling at his two brothers, Adam lifted out the basket with the puppy and handed it to Annie before removing the empty lunch basket to take that into the kitchen with the supplies they had picked up.

"Oh, Hoss, you have to come here and see the puppy I got. He's so beautiful and smart."

Hoss couldn't move across the yard fast enough when he heard that. He reached Annie's side almost at a run and gazed down at the sleeping puppy. "He is a sweet one, ain't he?"

"What is it? It looks like a mutt."

"Well, you can't be Uncle Joe to Shep then. Hoss, you can be Uncle Hoss to our puppy though."

Ben had walked out of the house by then and heard Annie's statement. "Well, I was hoping they would be uncles to a little boy or girl one of these days." All three men saw a shadow pass over Annie's face at that statement, but she bravely managed to talk about the puppy instead. Then leaving the basket in Hoss' hands, she excused herself to go in the house to 'freshen up' which made all of them wonder what had just happened. Adam walked outside from the kitchen and asked where Annie had gone because he saw Hoss with the puppy. Once Hoss explained what had happened, Adam hurried inside. The others looked at each other as mystified by all of it but seeing that Adam seemed to know what had happened without even being there.

Once Hoss carried the puppy inside in the basket, he got a glower from Ben who did not like dogs on a ranch and especially not in the house. "Pa, he's just a tiny little thing, and he ain't got his mama no more. He'll stay in the basket, but he needs to be in the house right now. You wouldn't want to have to face Annie ifn a coyote came up and grabbed this little guy, now would ya?" With a harrumph, Ben headed to his desk. Joe and Hoss played with the puppy who had awakened, and Hoss went to beg some food from Hop Sing to feed him.

Upstairs, Adam was trying to comfort Annie who was crying almost inconsolably. They had not told the family about what the doctor had told Annie after her bout with typhoid fever. He believed she would never have children. "Adam, you have to tell them. I can't, but I can't bear to hear your father encourage us to give him grandchildren. You know that isn't going to happen no matter how hard we try."

"I don't know that yet. The doctor was guessing."

"Well doctors' guesses are based on a lot of training and knowledge. I believe him. You said you wanted to marry me anyway. Is that still true?"

"Oh, sweetheart, of course that's true. I love you so much. I try to show you all the time that I do care so much for you and want you with me."

"Then please tell your father. I can't live like this with him thinking there's going to be a baby when you know there probably won't be one."

Pulling Annie close, Adam was silent and let his embrace tell her that he cared and would do anything for her. She appreciated the hug and rested her head on his chest as her arms wrapped around his waist. She was thinking there definitely were some very good things about having a strong man at your side. After about an hour, Adam walked downstairs following Annie as all of them had heard Hop Sing call them to dinner. Annie had asked him not to hold her or touch her for she would break out crying most assuredly if he did that in front of the family. All Adam wanted to do was exactly what Annie had asked him not to do. Annie wasn't talking and barely touched her food before saying she needed to go outside for some air. Adam looked down at his plate and sighed deeply.

"You two have a fight about something?" Hoss was deeply concerned.

"Son, you can talk with us. Maybe we can help."

After a few moments of silence, Adam looked up at his father and then looked at Hoss and at Joe making all of them worry about what was coming next.

"It's not about that rumor that you fathered that Anderson baby because Annie has to know you wouldn't lie about that?"

"No, Joe, it's not that, and we didn't have an argument. It's something I should probably have told all of you, especially Pa, a long time ago. Annie probably can't have children. She had typhoid fever and it was very bad. It lasted for weeks, and the high fever seems to have done some long term damage to her body. Before we were married, that was what she wanted to tell me when I asked her to marry me. I love her with my heart and soul, and I know I may never have children."

"Adam, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's all right, Pa. I came to terms with it when she told me, but every time you mention having grandchildren, it hurts Annie. It makes her think about it all again. She still hasn't come to terms with it."

"Can't the two of you adopt? There always seem to be a lot of kids needing a home and a family."

"Maybe that will be an option someday, Hoss, but right now it would be too hard on Annie. It would be a constant reminder of what she cannot have. The ladies in town ask her often enough, and we're not telling them why. This is for the family to know so that Annie has a safe place." As his father and brothers nodded their heads in agreement, Adam excused himself to go see his wife. He found her leaning on the corral fence with her head down. He stood as close as he could without touching her and leaned down to talk softly to her.

"I told them. There won't be any insensitive comments from the family any more."

"What did they say?"

"They were sorry to hear that you had to deal with that, and Hoss mentioned adoption but I told him you weren't ready for that yet."

"Why? We could adopt."

"When you can adopt because you want to love a child, we can adopt. Right now I'm afraid you would adopt to fill a hole in your heart. You have to heal first, Annie, before we can give all our love to a child. Can I hold you now? I know you said it would make you cry, but it's only me here, and I really feel the need to hold you right now."

Gently, Adam began rubbing Annie's back. He moved his hand in a circular motion slowly feeling her relax. Annie turned to him, and Adam pulled her into his embrace as she rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Eventually Adam and Annie came back inside and Annie started playing with the puppy. When he acted like he had to go, she took him to the front of the house, and he did his business off to the side. Hoss was very impressed.

"Pa, did you see that. That pup is only about ten weeks old, and he's pretty much house broke already. He's a right smart pup, all right."

When it was time to retire for the night, Annie walked up the stairs with the puppy and Adam followed behind with the basket. Ben wanted to say something but knew he shouldn't. Once the couple disappeared down the hallway upstairs, he just sighed. He guessed he would have to get used to a puppy in the house.

Upstairs, once Annie was reclining in their bed, she began thinking. The Anderson baby was born by the time she and Jeremy arrived on the Ponderosa for she remembered Hoss saying something about the rumors already at that time. The rumor mill had really pushed this one so that over the winter, the rumor had grown to have the status of truth in the minds of some. She waited until Adam slipped in beside her.

"Is it Joe you're protecting by not talking about this rumor?"

Laughing softly, Adam moved close to Annie wrapping his arm around her. "That would be too easy, wouldn't it. No, it's not Joe. He's the one who told me about Dave and Sue, and I broke off seeing her. She hates Joe, and he doesn't have much good to say about her."

"Well, then, who could it be?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" When Annie nodded, Adam leaned down close to her ear and told her. Very surprised by who Adam thought might be the father, Annie had a few more questions for Adam. "Is she that seductive that she can get anyone in her bed or do men think they're in love with her? When you were with her, did you think you loved her?" Adam nodded again. "So you thought you might marry her?"

"The thought had crossed my mind, but I wasn't even close to asking her."

"But the two of you were having relations?"

"Sue is very seductive and certainly has her charms. Sweetheart, I went into a woman's bed if she was willing and I was attracted to her. Sue is very attractive, and she was very willing. The first time, I kissed her after I brought her home, and she asked if that was all I was going to do. I wanted to be sure so I asked her if she wanted me to do more, and she made some suggestions I was more than willing to do."

"Well, that hussy! Is she like that with men in general, or was it your dashing good looks and gorgeous body she wanted?"

"I think she thought I was an agreeable conquest. Then she conquered Dave. I didn't want to sleep with a woman who was sleeping with someone else at the same time."

"But you've been to some of those houses in town. I heard Joe and Hoss talking once."

"That's not a relationship. That's just to take care of needs. Now do we need to talk about this any more? I could think of a number of other things we could be doing." As Adam was talking, he was untying the ribbons on Annie's gown.

"Really? We just did it this afternoon in the meadow."

Kisses and intimate touching replaced words for a time, and then the two fell asleep only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a puppy who had some business to do.

Chapter 3

When Adam got downstairs with the puppy to let him outside, he was very surprised to find his father sitting by the fireplace. The smoke from his pipe had been a clue as soon as Adam entered the hallway upstairs. He put the puppy outside until he finished his business and then sat in the blue chair by the fireplace with the puppy in his lap. As he waited for his father to speak, he stroked the puppy's back and watched his eyes slowly close.

"I'm very concerned about your wife. She seems very emotional about not having children, and as if that wasn't enough for her, she has to hear these terrible rumors about you. Have you discussed this with her?"

Looking at his father and wondering if he would ever think of his sons as adults, Adam could only nod. "Annie will come to terms with all of it. Getting married probably made it hit home even though she has known this for years. Now that she's married, it's become more real and all the more devastating because she would so much like to have a child with me."

"Maybe I should ask if you've come to terms with it."

"Mostly, I guess I have. I love Annie so much and couldn't imagine life without her. I do keep hoping that the doctor could have been wrong, and that there's still a chance we could have a child so in that way, no, I haven't completely come to terms with it."

"What about the rumor that you fathered that Anderson baby?"

"Pa, you know there have been rumors about me before. They eventually died down. It seems every time a baby is born with dark hair and darker than usual skin, people are looking to me. As far as I know, I have never fathered a child with anyone."

For that, Ben had to hold his tongue. He knew it was unrealistic to expect that Adam, at his age, would not have been with women, but he wished he had married instead of being with so many. Ben had the same concern about Joe. At least Adam had finally married. Watching Ben, Adam could imagine what he was thinking. The puppy had fallen asleep on his lap so he thought it was time to take him back upstairs.

"Pa, don't worry too much. We'll all say some prayers in church tomorrow that this will all get resolved soon."

"Adam, you must have some idea who fathered Sue Anderson's baby. Why won't you say who you think it is and let them handle the rumors."

"First of all, I would never do to someone what has been done to me. It is grossly unfair. Heck, Pa, at one point, I wondered if you were the one."

"Me? Adam, I went over to help her out when Dave was gone on that cattle drive, but I would never be with a married woman, not that she didn't try."

"That's what I finally decided. I guessed she would have tried, but that you would be too sophisticated to fall for her scheme. The more I know about her, the more I wonder if she ever even liked me or was she using me as a means to an end. She's beautiful and does have some charm though."

Ben chose not to think about what Adam probably meant by that last statement for he suspected he had been in an intense sexual relationship with her and they weren't married and hadn't even discussed that as far as he knew. "I have to wonder how many men she tried to use her feminine charms on and who she finally snagged. Who do you think it was?"

"Pa, that baby was conceived during that fall drive about a year and a half ago. Sue and I had broken up over six months before that. Now, other than you and me, who else with dark hair and eyes was around here during that big drive? It narrows it down if you think about it. I had that bad leg with that wound from the arrow and other injuries. You stayed here to run the ranch business, and Hoss and Joe ran the drive with Dave's help. There was one other who went over to their ranch because you asked him to help out."

Ben's eyes got big then as he thought about it. "He wouldn't have dared, would he?"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid may have happened. You sent him over there to help out because you were busy here. I couldn't possibly go. There was no one else who could. I'm not sure, and I'm not willing to say anything based on suspicion."

"That's wise, but I still worry about Dave. He's slow to anger but holds a grudge. He's not someone to be dismissed. He could be dangerous."

"He won't come at me with a gun. He knows better than that. As for his fists, I guess I just better stay out of reach until he cools down. Good night. Annie's bound to be worrying about why I'm taking so long."

However Annie had not been worrying for she had gone looking for Adam and heard him talking with his father. When Adam came back with the puppy and got him settled in the basket, Annie asked him how much of a danger Dave could be. He tried to reassure her that Dave wouldn't be that much of a threat but wasn't convincing enough for her or for himself. Neither slept well the rest of the night. The next morning, Annie skipped breakfast saying she wasn't feeling well.

"Do you still want to go to church? We could stay home again."

"No, if we keep hiding out, then it looks like we have something to be ashamed about. We need to go to church. Hop Sing will fix me some of his wonderful tea, and I'll be fine. It's all the stress and lack of sleep, I think. Just give me a few days to get used to all of this."

As Annie went in the kitchen to request some tea, Ben leaned toward Adam and spoke softly. "She has a point, but bringing her to church looking ill and out of sorts might have the opposite effect."

"I'll be fine. I can act like I'm fine for a while. I could hear what you said." Annie answered from the kitchen.

"Pa, she's got ears like a cat. She can hear anything. She heard the puppy scratching around in the basket last night and knew he needed to go outside."

"Well, Annie, I know, but do you want to force yourself to have to do this?"

Annie came out from the kitchen with a cup of tea. It was like Hop Sing had read her mind and prepared exactly what she needed. "Papa, Adam has to go to church, and he can't go alone or there'll be even more talk. I'll be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go dress."

True to her word, although Annie spent most of the carriage ride to town leaning up against Adam and sleeping, as soon as they neared the church, she perked up, slapped her cheeks to get a little color, and smiled. Adam hugged her close. "You're amazing. How did I ever get so lucky?"

"Oh I don't know. Perhaps it was the rustlers, the kidnapping, a wise father, and two very supportive brothers."

"You forgot to mention my charm and wit."

"Oh yes, and that notorious self confidence and arrogance."

"Hey, I thought you were going to be nice to me while we were at church."

"I will be, but we're not there yet."

On the front seat of the carriage, Ben looked at Jeremy who only shook his head. That was his sister all right, but he knew that her sassy delivery was only ever delivered that way to people she liked. She had as much trouble saying how she really felt as Adam did. Both of them found other ways to communicate the depth of their emotions. He suspected that it would never change. He knew now that Annie had never loved her first husband. She had always been quiet and deferential around him. With Adam, her heart was open and her mouth was free because she loved and trusted him with her true self. Jeremy grinned as Adam pulled Annie to him and quieted her with a kiss. That was one way to stop her sassiness.

At the church, Adam helped Annie from the carriage and she walked to the church with her arm linked in his and the family all around them. There were still some stares but more people wondered if Dave's claims could be true for Adam stood tall and ignored the accusations. His wife apparently trusted him, and his family was by his side making those who knew them realize it could not be true. That day in church went a long way toward squelching the rumor. Only the most gossipy among them would continue to talk about it, and even for them, it was losing interest.

Dave and Sue Anderson sat in church as well, and for most of the service, Dave stared at Adam on occasion glancing at the dark haired baby in Sue's arms. He was beginning to doubt too that Adam was the father of the baby, but Sue continued to insist it had to be Adam claiming she had never been with another man except when Adam forced himself on her. Dave was having trouble with that part of the story too for he had never known Adam to have to force himself on any woman. It always seemed to be the other way. He also remembered how Sue had pursued him while she was supposedly Adam's gal. She had wanted him, she said, and she let him do things and asked him to do more than he had ever done with any woman. He did wonder if she loved him, and he knew that his attraction for her was based mostly on winning the woman that Adam had bedded. He thought that after church, perhaps he and Adam could talk. As the service ended and people began to file out of church, Dave walked up to Adam as he was heading to the necessary after escorting Annie to the carriage.

"Adam, I think we should talk."

"If talking is what you have in mind, that's a good idea, but my wife isn't feeling well and I need to take her home. I'll be happy to talk to you on another day."

"All right. But don't forget."

"I won't."

As Ben and Jeremy arrived back at the carriage, Ben had to ask what that conversation had been. Adam was relieved that Dave wanted to talk because he was thinking there might finally be a calm, rational way to resolve this whole mess. What he didn't know was that when Dave reported what he said to his wife and friends, they were skeptical. That's where Annie's good acting led to an unfortunate conclusion.

"She looked fine in church, but as soon as you wanted to talk, she's suddenly not feeling well? That stinks."

"Yeah, Dave, you can't let him get away with that. He didn't show any respect for you at all, and using his wife as an excuse was the coward's way out."

That was the type of conversation Dave had with several friends over the next several days. His temper was back up, and he wanted revenge. Just as Adam and Annie were relaxing a bit about the situation because it seemed everything had gone so well at church, it had gotten worse again without their knowledge. On Wednesday, Adam and Jeremy went to town to pick up fencing supplies. They were going to have to take down some fencing to release the cattle for the spring drive, and the materials were to repair the parts of that fence that wouldn't be good enough to put back up. Annie had said she was feeling better, but Adam thought she still looked a bit pale and wanted her to stay home and rest a bit more. Reluctantly she agreed for she was tired and had been having trouble sleeping too. At least Shep was with her, and he was a great comfort to her. Adam and Jeremy got a late start because they had to fix a wagon rim before they could go. It was noon before they left.

In town, Adam saw Dave Anderson's wagon and wondered if he would see him. At the mercantile, Adam dropped off the list of supplies they needed and asked Jeremy to wait for them and load them when they were ready because he wanted to go talk with Dave. If Hoss had accompanied Adam, he would never have let Adam seek out Dave on his own. But Jeremy didn't realize the threat because he didn't recognize the men who followed Adam down the street as he walked toward the livery stable where Dave's wagon was standing. With so many people milling about on the street, Adam didn't realize the threat either. He walked into the livery calling Dave's name to see if he was there.

"Yeah, Cartwright, what do you want?" Dave's voice came from the shadows in the back of the stable. He was coherent, but his words were slurred together.

"Sorry, Dave, I thought you would want to talk, but you've been drinking so this isn't probably a good time to do this."

As Adam turned to leave, Dave's friends were there blocking the exit. Both had drawn their pistols once they entered the shadows of the stable. Adam turned back to Dave. "Apparently your friends are going to insist I stay. Now do you want to try to talk about this mess?"

"You know what my friends have been telling me? They said that somebody who does something like what you done deserves to be horsewhipped." From the shadows, Adam heard the unmistakable sound of a bullwhip being snapped. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Dave, I didn't do anything. It's a big lie."

"Now you're calling my wife a liar? If I ever thought you might be telling the truth, that cinches it. You're a dirty liar calling my wife a liar." It wasn't a good time to point out to Dave that his statements were illogical. He was angry, and it was all too obvious that he had been drinking too much. It was a terrible combination for a man who had been cuckolded because it meant he wanted someone to pay, and of course, that someone was Adam. He walked closer to Adam who didn't want to draw his pistol. He didn't want to shoot Dave, and he wouldn't be able to stop Dave and be able to fire on the two at the door who already had their pistols in their hands. They might be bad shots but he was only about ten feet away from them. They could hardly miss even if they were bad shots. Adam tried to talk to Dave, but that was cut off abruptly as Dave swung the whip and caught Adam high on his right arm. The whip tore his shirt and left a welt on his arm.

"Dave, don't do this. You can still walk away from this."

"Yeah, well you can't. You're gonna pay now."

Dave landed two more strikes drawing blood before Adam was able to grab the whip and pull Dave off balance. Adam threw everything he had into a left uppercut laying Dave out on the floor. The two with the pistols were unsure of what to do which gave Adam an out. He rushed them and pushed them aside finding out that they were in fact terrible shots for they fired at him as he ran. Once they got to their feet only dust was thrown up by their errant shots, but Adam hoped they didn't hit an innocent bystander in their anger and frustration. Thankfully they gave up as he rounded the corner near the mercantile. Adam's right arm was stinging a lot and bleeding profusely shocking Jeremy who had come out of the store when he heard the shots. Roy and Clem came running and stopped when they saw Adam plop down on the bench in front of the store. He gave them a brief rundown of what had happened.

"Well, I'm thinking a few days in jail might just cool them boys down. Clem, take a couple of deputies and round those boys up. I'm walking Adam over to the Doc's."

"Roy, I can just go home."

"Not bleeding like that, you aren't. Doc's gonna patch you up first. Jeremy, you wanna get Adam a shirt from the store there. They know his size and the color he likes."

Nodding and smiling in response to the sheriff's request and smirk, Jeremy did as asked and then had to ask where the doctor's office was. He arrived with the shirt as Doctor Martin was applying salve and bandages to the cuts from the whip. He put a lot of padding over each one. Then he put salve on the welts the whip had made on Adam's back as it wrapped around him each time. Finally he cleaned the abrasions on Adam's hands from grabbing the whip and pulling Dave off balance.

"Now Jeremy, you need to let Hop Sing and Annie know that these wounds have to be cleaned out and dressed at least twice a day so there won't be any infection. He's not to do anything with that arm either so the skin can close up and the bleeding will stop. He needs two weeks of light duty to let everything heal."

"Yessir, I'll see to that. Annie's a right good nurse, and she'll take good care of him. I might need something for pain though."

"Oh, were you hurt?"

"No, but I probably will be when I bring him back to Annie all hurt like this. She's gonna be awful mad at me for not stopping it."

Even while grimacing from the doctor's ministrations, Adam had to grin a little for he knew that Jeremy was absolutely correct. Annie was going to be mad. Adam looked forward to making up with her once she calmed down. Makeup sex was always very passionate. It was as if Jeremy and Paul knew what he was thinking because they just shook their heads at him.

Chapter 4

"What were you thinking? You said it yourself! You said you would stay away from him, and you went to see him in the livery stable? And you went by yourself? Are you an idiot?" As expected, Annie was very angry.

"No, I'm not, but you're really pushing for that spanking!"

"You wouldn't dare. Besides, with that arm, you couldn't do it anyway!"

"Don't push too hard, or I'll try no matter what it takes."

Ben felt he had to intervene at that point. "Adam, I think your wife is just concerned about you. There's no need to argue and make threats."

"What? Pa, we're just talking."

"Yes, Papa, we just have to get it out so it doesn't simmer."

Shaking his head at his son's unusual relationship with his wife, Ben walked back into the great room leaving Adam's care to Hop Sing and Annie. Seeing Hoss and Joe there next to the fireplace, he had little to say about how Adam and Annie conversed and only shook his head.

"Pa, we see it too. It looks like they're fighting all the time, but then they're all fine with each other like nothing happened. I guess it's a lot like Adam and Little Joe."

"What? You can leave me out of this."

"Nah, I mean the way you and Adam are always going at it with each other. Seems to be the only way you two can talk sometimes, but it clears the air and then the two of you work it out. We know ya love each other as brothers, but it can be darn hard for us sometimes to have to listen to it all with the two of ya jabbering at each other so much."

"Oh. Well you do see the common denominator here is Adam. Maybe it's the only way he can communicate. He seems to have a few of those knock down drag out spats with Pa rather often too."

"Deronmintor?"

"The denominator, the common element, the common factor, the only one who is in all the arguing."

"You might have something there, Joe, but ya coulda just said it straight out the first time. I guess Adam finally found someone like him to marry so she don't take it wrong when he gets all grumpy and complaining."

"Boys, there's another problem. With those cuts on his arm and the welts on his back, Adam shouldn't go on this drive. I know he has everything set up to boss the drive, but the doctor doesn't want him using that arm to do much of anything for two weeks. You know if he goes, he'll do too much. You don't need that problem."

"Yeah, knowing our oldest brother, he'll let it go too until he needs a doctor, and that could be tough. Hoss, why don't you boss the drive, and I'll keep the ramrod job."

"We can do that. Pa, do you suppose there's any way to hire Dave to work this drive? He's a darn good cowhand."

"No, Hoss, that's probably not a good idea right now. Why don't you see if Will can help out? We're taking some of the cattle from his ranch so it would make sense for him to help."

"Pa, have you been over there lately? The looks from Laura could turn ya into a pillar of salt. Something's not right there." Laura had always made Hoss feel uneasy, and lately he didn't want to be anywhere near her.

"I know. I've seen them together, and it's not pleasant, but maybe that's a good reason to take Will along. It might help to separate the two of them for a bit."

"Yeah, Adam hasn't been over there to help out since he hooked up with Annie. I'm guessing it was a real long winter on that ranch. What happened to Will's plans to sell the ranch and go to San Francisco?" Joe was concerned because Will had made it clear he wanted to move and start up his own business, and Joe thought it would be a good idea for Peggy too to get away from Adam and get used to Will as her stepfather.

"Laura threw a tantrum when it finally was time to make the move, and your cousin backed down. He's not a happy man right now."

"Guess Adam really dodged a bullet with that one, didn't he?"

Walking out of the kitchen, Adam was perturbed to find his family talking about him. "Dodged what bullet?"

"Ah, well we was talking about the drive. You shouldn't go. Joe will still ramrod and I'll take over as trail boss. We're gonna get Will to help out."

"Oh, and that was probably where dodging the bullet came in." Adam knew he shouldn't go on the drive, and this made it easier for him, but it still rankled. He hated having to turn the job over when it was his turn to do it. That and his family talking about him irritated him more than he already was by what Dave had done in town.

Realizing that his hope that Adam wouldn't know they had been talking about Adam's failed relationship with Laura, Hoss found an excuse to head outside. "Well, I better go get to work then. I'll let Candy know that I'm bossing the drive, so he'll have a bit more to do here on the ranch while we're gone."

"Hoss, I'll help you." Joe wanted to get out of the room as much as Hoss did.

That left Ben who asked his sons if they needed any help. When they said they didn't, he excused himself to go get a cup of coffee leaving Adam and Annie alone in the great room. Adam had his shirt on but open and the white bandages that Hop Sing had insisted on wrapping around him to protect the welts on his back were all too visible as was the thick padding that could be seen under the right sleeve.

"Why is that everyone gets nervous any time we're talking about Will or Laura? He's your cousin and neighbor and yet they're not invited to family events. We say hello to them at church, and that's about it. Peggy always asks when you'll come over again, and you do your best to sidestep that question. Would you please explain all of that to me?"

"Now?" With his fingers almost immediately brushing across his lips and his eyes turned down at the floor, Annie knew it was something Adam found painful to discuss. She started to think that it was not a good time to press him for the details for he was physically, emotionally, and mentally stressed by the situation with the rumor about the Anderson baby and that so many including Dave would believe it. His integrity and reputation for honesty were very important to him, and although he would avoid telling the truth sometimes, she had not known him to lie and his family held that same opinion of him.

"I'm sorry I got angry with you for going to see Dave in the livery stable. I don't understand why you didn't take Jeremy with you."

"I didn't think he wanted to fight. After church on Sunday, he wanted to talk, and I told him I would, but that you weren't feeling well and I wanted to get you home. I don't know what happened with him in the last few days to change him back into that angry man bent on getting revenge."

"You didn't tell me on Sunday that he had asked to talk with you."

"You were so tired, and you'd been such a trooper to come with me to church, I felt I had to spare you any more. I wanted to take care of you."

"I'll be fine. You need to think more about taking care of yourself."

"Well, on that note, because we never had time for a honeymoon and I can't go on the drive or work anyway, how about if I ask Pa if he thinks we could take a couple of weeks and go to San Francisco? There are usually some nice shows in the spring, and we can go to the beach and have a picnic. There are some wonderful restaurants to go to, and I have friends I would like you to meet."

With a frown and a smile, Annie nodded.

"The smile I get, but why are you frowning?"

"I would like to go very much, but I was wondering if all of this was to avoid answering the question I asked earlier. You know, if you don't want to talk about it, you could just tell me that. You don't have to use these elaborate avoidance techniques you have."

"I didn't ask you to go to San Francisco to avoid answering your question. I do think that two weeks on our own will give us more time to talk. I'll tell you anything you want to know. Now if you want to know about Laura, I want to go up to our room. I don't want to have anyone else there when I explain what happened."

So Adam and Annie went to their room, and while they sat side by side on the bed, Adam explained one of the more painful parts of his past. He told her how Will and Laura were seeing each other while Laura was supposed to be getting ready for her wedding to Adam. He told her about the accident when he fell from the roof and was paralyzed. Then he told her about being in the wheelchair and overhearing Laura and Will express their love for each other. That betrayal was why he was uncomfortable around Laura and Will. He explained that Peggy wanted him to be her father and was having a difficult time accepting Will in that role. To help with the separation, Adam had asked his father to try to keep the two of them apart. Therefore, unless it was a big party, Will and Laura were not invited to the Ponderosa. It was a trying situation for all of them.

"Did you sleep with her?"

Obviously a little surprised by that question, Adam answered first with a question. "Are you going to ask me about every woman with whom I have had relations?"

"No, just the ones I might still see."

With a deep sigh, Adam leaned back on the bed. "Yes."

"Well she must be an idiot then to walk away from the best loving and most handsome man I have ever met. I can't believe she did that to you."

Seeing how angry Annie was, Adam felt a warning was appropriate. "Now, Annie, it's over. I don't want you doing anything about it. I was truthful with you that her betrayal and Will's were very painful for me, but I have to tell you I was very lucky too. If not for Laura leaving me for Will, I would never have found you. You're the best for me, and I want you to know that there has never been and never will be anyone who is more important to me than you are." Adam sat up and reached for Annie with his left arm to pull her to him. They kissed, and Annie's hand brushed across the welts on his back making him flinch.

"Oh, I am so sorry. When you kiss me, sometimes my brain just stops working."

Grinning then, Adam's good spirits were back. "Hmm, it's a confidence builder that I have that effect on you and we've been married almost five months."

"Mister, we could be married five years or fifty, and you would still have that effect on me. Now though, you should get some rest."

"I would rest better if you were with me."

"You know perfectly well that if I stayed here with you, you wouldn't be getting any rest at all. Your hands just naturally seem to start roaming around whenever I'm close to you, and as soon as those lips of yours touch me, my brain seems to disappear. Now get some sleep. I'll wake you for dinner."

After dinner, Adam asked his father if he would mind if he and Annie took a couple of weeks to go to San Francisco because he couldn't work anyway. Although a stage ride might be a bit uncomfortable, it did fit within the doctor's prescription so Ben had no objections and thought it might be good for the two of them to get out of town for a while. Ben was concerned at how the stress seemed to be affecting Annie's ability to sleep and making her feel ill as well. Adam and Annie began packing the next morning. After Hop Sing and Annie cleaned up Adam's wounds and put on fresh clean bandages, Ben gave Adam and Annie a ride to town to catch the stage. It was a blustery day, and few people were traveling or even out and about in town. There were no other passengers on the stage, and Adam gave Annie a pat on the behind as she climbed into the stage ahead of him and then he had a lecherous grin once he got on the stage.

"We can't do anything on the stage!"

"Oh, I think there may be a few things we can do."

Shaking her head, Annie had to admit that the time would pass more quickly if they were hugging and kissing for some of the time at least. She wasn't too worried because Adam did have one arm he could barely use. She wasn't as safe as she thought though, but she didn't object much either to the attention she got.

In town as Ben watched the stage pull out, Sheriff Roy Coffee hailed him. The two of them sought refuge in a nearby restaurant where they ordered coffee.

"Ben, I'm right glad to see ya. Saves me a trip out to your place."

"Oh, why did you need to come out to see me?"

"Well, actually I needed to contact Adam. Dave is still in jail for disturbing the peace yesterday along with those two friends of his. Adam wouldn't press no other charges so I'll have to let them out in two days. But Dave got himself a lawyer."

Ben was confused. "Now if he's getting out in two days, why does he need a lawyer?"

"Well seems he's gonna sue Adam for support for his child and he's suing him too for adultery with his wife."

"What?"

"I got a subpoena I gotta serve on Adam. He has to appear in court to give a deposition to the lawyer."

"Well that's plain ridiculous. Besides, Adam has left town for two weeks. He and Annie are heading to San Francisco. So unless you can ride faster than that stage is going in this weather, Dave will have to wait two weeks to have that subpoena served. Maybe he'll come to his senses by then."

"Don't hardly think so, Ben. I been hearing those two jaspers who was locked up with him keep telling him how he got shamed by Adam and needs to get back at him. Ben, I can't see this turning out well. There's gonna be hurt all around from this mess."

Chapter 5

"You're enjoying this a bit too much." Adam was grouchy. Annie had insisted they stop over in Sacramento to see a doctor, and they had been cooped up in the hotel room for two days. There were a couple of things that always made him a grouch. One was being a patient, and the other was being forced to stay in one location for very long. In this case, both were true so he was a very crabby man.

"I'm not enjoying it. It had to be done. You had a fever, and we need to make sure these wounds from that whip don't get any worse. You heard the doctor. I need to clean these at least two or three times a day, and no more traveling for you until they start to heal again. There's only a mild infection in that one cut now, but we can't let it get any worse."

"No, what I meant is that you like being in charge and telling me what to do. I hope you know it won't last."

"Oh, I think there are a few things you wouldn't mind me ordering you to do."

"Like what?"

Smiling, Annie sat on the bed and looked up as demurely as she could manage at that moment. "Perhaps I could tell you it was time for a nap, and you better shuck them clothes and crawl into this bed."

"Would you be in there with me?"

"Well, it would depend on how fast you comply with my request."

Grinning, Adam dropped his shirt to the floor. It hadn't been buttoned anyway because Annie had finished cleaning his wounds and bandaging them securely only a few minutes previously. Then he dropped his pants, pulled off his socks, and slid under the covers. "Fast enough for you?"

"Perhaps too fast. I may have to ask you to slow down a little in the future. But for now, yes, that was nice." Slowly then, Annie unbuttoned her dress and let it slide to the floor. Then she unhooked her shoes and slipped them off. Reaching up under her petticoats, she slipped off a stocking and then the other and dropped them by her shoes. Item by item, she slowly removed the rest of her clothing before pulling the covers back and sitting beside Adam. "Now, it's your turn to give orders." And they played that game for a time before they actually did fall asleep once they were both very satisfied with how the early afternoon had gone.

When it was nearing six, Annie awoke and looked up to see Adam gazing down at her. She knew he liked to watch her as she slept. She had asked him if he would draw a portrait of her in sleep so she could see what he found so fascinating. He said he would if he could pull the covers off. Annie wasn't ready to let him draw her as a nude, so that request of hers had yet to be granted.

"May I escort you to dinner, my fair lady?"

"You may, indeed, kind sir, but methinks we ought to don yon fine clothing beforehand."

Chuckling, Adam slid from the bed and retrieved their clothing that was strewn across the floor. The next morning, Annie was satisfied that the cuts on his arm were healing. There had been no drainage during the night, and the angry red color had subsided to a light shade of pink. They got tickets for the riverboat and were on their way to San Francisco by the end of the day.

Standing at the rail with his left arm around Annie's waist, Adam pointed out to her places and sights that he knew. She was dismayed at the murky waters, and Adam explained it was the result of mining and that there were court cases being fought over that issue. He hoped this would never happen to the waters of Nevada and beautiful Lake Tahoe but said the outcome of the cases in California would have a big impact. They discussed other issues related to mining and water rights. Although Annie loved the bantering and teasing with Adam, it was these talks on serious issues when he explained things and asked her opinion that made her love him more every day. Although he threatened to spank her when he was perturbed, she didn't think he would actually do that unless she willfully went against his wishes on something he found terribly important. He showed too much respect for her as a person for her to think he would treat her like a child. The paternalistic attitude of her first husband had irritated her more than anything else about him, and she was happy that Adam did not act that way toward her. Even with all the grumbling, he had listened to her advice in Sacramento and then heeded it. It made her feel more confident and loved.

In San Francisco, it was Adam's turn to take charge which he enjoyed immensely. He took Annie to the theatre, to meet and visit with his friends, and to his favorite restaurants. There were of course lots of quiet intimate times in their hotel room in between because it was their official honeymoon. At Adam's insistence, Annie bought some new dresses and then some other garments that she thought were absolutely risqué, but Adam thought she would look ravishing in them even if he was the only one who would see her dressed that way. In fact, he was sure that he would be the only one to see her dressed that way, and just the thought of it made him want to rush back to their hotel room. They didn't rush back, but Annie did model some of the new garments that evening, and their tickets to the theatre were forgotten. There was the promised picnic, visits to chocolate and pastry shops, and then to bookstores where the two of them stocked up on some of the latest releases. By the time their ten days in the city were over, both of them were relaxed and rejuvenated. Adam's arm and back were nearly healed so the trip home was much less strenuous.

Again on the stage, Adam and Annie were the only passengers from Placerville to Virginia City. Adam had some ideas of what he would have liked to do, but Annie wanted to talk about something that had been nagging at the edges of her conscious mind for a while. "You said you thought for a time that Pa could have been the one who fathered that Anderson baby because he rides off for hours at a time and no one knows where he is. What do you think he's been doing?"

"I'm not sure. I think he is seeing someone. When we brought supplies to the line shacks this spring, the one we use the least because it's between home and Virginia City was clean and orderly. Usually it's the dustiest one because it is so seldom used."

"So you think he's been using it to meet with someone?"

Nodding, Adam had to smile. "I even toyed with the idea of following him to see who it could be, but that really is none of my business if he doesn't want us to know."

"Don't you have any idea? And why would he want to hide it?"

"First of all, any one Ben Cartwright is seen with at a dance or a party becomes the target of gossip and rumors of impending marriage, and slander about gold diggers inevitably results. So that Pa is keeping it a secret if he is seeing someone is not surprising at all. It doesn't mean there is any reason to think it isn't a wholly respectable relationship. And as to whom it could be, I have no idea. My father appreciates a pretty woman, and always finds time to chat with women even if he doesn't particularly care for them. He is always a gentleman."

"Too bad his sons didn't inherit that from him."

"Darling, would you have me act gentlemanly with all the ladies, or should I continue my roguish ways with you only?"

"Well, when you say it that way, I guess I'm pretty happy the way things are. I still want to know who it is."

Laughing at Annie's insatiable curiosity, Adam pulled her to him for a sound kiss. They were still in each other's arms when the stage rolled up to the depot in Virginia City. Annie straightened her clothing and sat up straight causing Adam to grin. "It's all right for them to know we've been kissing. We're married, and the coach was private."

As soon as the driver put the step by the door of the stage, Ben was there pulling the door open to welcome Adam and Annie home. Every time that Adam traveled away from the Ponderosa like this, Ben had a little stab of fear that this might be the time he decided not to come back. Ben knew the wanderlust was just barely held in check by his eldest son. He had hoped that Adam and Annie would have a child and make a home on the Ponderosa, and that was the main reason he had been sad to learn that Annie might not be able to have a child. But Adam was home again, and Ben hugged Annie and gave her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing Adam in an unaccustomed hug. Adam had no idea why his father was so demonstrative but was soon to learn the reason.

All of the serenity of the trip was dashed almost as soon as Adam and Annie returned to Virginia City. After their greeting from Ben, Roy was there to meet them with the subpoena. Adam was angry but even more upset when he saw how the subpoena affected his wife. Because the subpoena required him to divulge information in a formal deposition with a judge as a witness, there would be no way to avoid all sorts of embarrassing revelations. There was no protection of the right to remain silent in a civil proceeding. Adam would have to answer truthfully any question posed to him.

Ben suggested that the three of them might like to have lunch in town, and then go talk with their lawyer about the subpoena. Adam agreed for putting it off wasn't going to help so he would do what he usually did and meet a challenge head on. Annie put her head down and sighed wondering when the two of them would have any peace. As they were seated at a table for lunch, Madame Fourier entered the restaurant. Ben saw her first.

"Well, hello, Michelle, ah , Madame Fourier."

"Good afternoon, Monsieurs Cartwright, and Madame Cartwright. What a pleasure to see you here."

"Michele, if you're planning to dine alone, perhaps you would like to joining us. Adam and I just returned from San Francisco." Annie liked Michele a great deal, and had enjoyed their talks especially the long talk the day she had ordered so much clothing.

"Ah, Annie, I would be so happy to join you if I am not imposing. Did you add to your wardrobe while you were in San Francisco?"

Blushing, Annie nodded, and Michele had a good idea why she was doing that and so did Ben. "You must show me the dresses you bought when you have a chance. I would like to see if there are some patterns I could use in my shop."

"I would be happy to do that."

"Sweetheart, why don't you do that after lunch while I go see the lawyer?"

"Don't you want me with you at the lawyer's office?"

"If you want to sit and listen, that's fine, but I assume that Hiram will be running me through a series of questions he will expect I'll have to answer. You already know what the answers will be. It's your choice of what you want to do."

"I'll go with you, and if Hiram thinks I'm not needed, then I'll take the valise with the dresses over to see Michele."

"That sounds like a plan. Now does anyone know what the special is today?"

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly as the four of them chatted about lighter events, and Annie invited Michele to the Ponderosa whenever she had the chance. Michele smiled and said she would be delighted to visit and told Annie that perhaps once things calmed down for her and Adam, they would be able to spend some time together. After lunch, the Cartwrights headed to the lawyer's office and Michele went back to her shop. As expected, Hiram had no questions or concerns that required Annie's presence so she headed over to spend some time with her new friend.

On the day of the deposition, Annie accompanied Adam to the courthouse as did Ben. Hoss and Joe as well as Will were still gone on the cattle drive. Hiram said a show of family support couldn't hurt, but their absence could. Hiram and Adam had discussed the case the day before, and they were sure that a judge hearing such a deposition would not be impressed with Dave's case. In front of the judge who would decide if the case had merit and could proceed, Dave's lawyer made Adam explain his relationship with Sue Anderson in depth.

"Did you ever have relations with Sue Anderson?"

"No, I did not."

"Come now, isn't it fairly common knowledge that you did before she was married to Dave Anderson? Are you trying to tell us that everyone who believes that is wrong? How could that be?"

"No, but her name was Sue Maitland then, and yes I did have relations with her. It was mutually agreeable to us. I never had relations with Sue Anderson though. I would never be with a married woman or even a woman who was betrothed."

"Your Honor, please instruct the witness to only answer the questions I pose."

"You opened the door, counselor. You have to live with what comes in or be more careful in how you phrase the question."

"Now you were the one who arranged the cattle drive that Dave Anderson worked, weren't you?"

Adam had to answer in the affirmative.

"But you didn't go on that drive, did you?"

"No, I did not. I was injured and confined to light work."

"Your Honor?"

"Mr. Cartwright, please only elaborate on your answers when he asks you to do that."

"When her husband was gone on a cattle drive that had been arranged by you, why did you go to see her if it wasn't for a liaison between the two of you?"

"I wanted to warn her about some of the behavior I had heard about."

"What kind of behavior?"

"I heard she was seeing other men. I told her she shouldn't be chasing after other men because she was married."

"Did you see her with anyone or were you the one she was chasing after?" Dave's lawyer was getting overconfident thinking he was leading Adam into admitting an affair with a married woman.

"No, I was not, and I did not see her with anyone else."

"Then why were you so sure that these things you heard were true?" Hiram smiled. He knew that a lawyer should never, ever give an open-ended question to a hostile witness especially one as intelligent as Adam Cartwright. Adam was free now to explain, and it wouldn't be good for Dave's case especially because Adam was answering the question posed by Dave's lawyer.

"Because she was seeing Dave when she was supposed to be my girl. Someone told me that he saw her kissing Dave, and when I asked her, she had to admit she had been seeing him behind my back."

Standing then before another question could be asked, Hiram made a motion to the judge. "Your Honor, based on what you have heard here already, I would ask you to dismiss this suit and order Mr. Anderson not to pursue this legally and waste the court's time."

"Counselor, I am inclined to agree with you. Does the plaintiff have any evidence to support this case because I haven't heard any so far?"

"Your Honor, I'm sure that with time, the case could be presented to your satisfaction so that a trial of the torts could proceed."

"Well, now, counselor, that's a big mistake you made. You will not use my time to go on a fishing expedition looking for evidence. You should have had some before you showed up in my courtroom to take a sworn statement. This case is dismissed with prejudice. Nothing like it better be filed with this court, or I will find both of you in contempt. Mr. Cartwright, I apologize that this fiasco was allowed. I'm sure you lawyer can advise you about the statutes on slander if you would like to pursue that. This proceeding, however, is adjourned." The judge angrily banged his gavel and stood to exit the room.

"You can't do that! He took my wife! He needs to be punished for that!" Dave had been getting angrier and angrier in the courtroom as the deposition had proceeded. He knew too that his lawyer had not been a match for Adam.

"You sir, need to be quiet or I will hold you in contempt of court. A few days in jail might be necessary to calm you down."

"Contempt? You bet it's contempt. You were paid off by the Cartwrights, weren't you? They can get away with anything because they have a lot of money."

"Sheriff, please remove him from this courtroom and see if a day in jail can get him to regain his good manners if he has any."

"I'll get you, Adam Cartwright! I'll get you for this if it's the last thing I do."

It was a somber group of Cartwrights who traveled back to the Ponderosa. They had quashed the legal proceedings against Adam, but Dave was even angrier than before. All of them knew that an angry man like that could be a lot of trouble for them if he decided to act on his anger. He would never meet Adam directly in a fight for he would lose. The biggest question then was what he would do instead.

Chapter 6

"Heard you had a pretty tough time with Dave's lawyer but handled it just fine."

"Candy, I wish I knew a better way to talk about this, but I need to ask you something." Adam and Candy were out fixing fence. Adam was feeling fine and some of the fence repairs had been jury rigged until someone could get to it. Jeremy was gone to get more supplies so the two men had some privacy for a time.

"Adam, I think I know what you're asking. No, I'm not the father. I was sweating it out for some months though."

"May I ask why?"

"It pretty much happened as you suspect just not as fast as you think. She made a move on me the first day I was over there to help out. I think that might be one of the reasons your father asked me to go after he had helped out a few times. I'm guessing she put some moves on him and he wasn't comfortable being around her. I resisted, honestly, I did. But she was after me and after me. I couldn't control it. She'd bend over by the clothes line while I was working, and I could see so much cause she would have her skirt hiked up when she was working outside. She's a darn fine looking woman as you know. But I didn't do anything. I stayed away from her as much as I could, did the work I had to do, and got out of there as soon as I could. Could only take it for a week, and then I asked someone else to help her."

"Let me guess. She touched your arm, your shoulder, or your hand as often as she could get near to you, and she stood as close to you as she could often brushing up against you. She dressed provocatively and talked in innuendoes that left little to the imagination."

"Well, I suppose you would know. You thinking you were just another conquest?"

"I'm thinking she wanted some of the Cartwright money and I was a means to that end. Now why did you say you were sweating it out?"

"Well, I was in town on a Saturday maybe two months later or so and had some drinks with your brothers and some of the boys. You know how it is when you can get Joe to crack open that wallet of his. Well, I probably had a few more than I should have, but the next day was a day off so I wasn't worried. As I was getting my horse and thinking I ought to ride home while I still could, Sue called to me from the mercantile. She had a wagonload of supplies and asked if I could help her. I did of course, and then she asked me to help her drive the wagon home and unload it because Dave was gone on a hunting trip over the weekend."

"And her hands were roaming and she made all sorts of suggestions as to what you could do."

"That's it. I took her that afternoon and came back several more times when she asked me to. Adam, she told me she was already with child so I didn't have to worry. Damn, she had me do things that no other woman had ever asked me to do. I'd dream about her at night. But afterwards, I was worried that she had said she was with child just to encourage me more. Well anybody can count, and it was seven months later that she had that baby so I know it ain't mine. Until then, I was thinking I could end up in the situation you're in. I was never with a married woman before and I'm ashamed I was with her. It wasn't right, but no one else has to know."

"You said you asked someone else to help her out. Who did you ask?"

"Oh boy, I was afraid you'd want to know that. I asked Will if he could help. I figured she'd let a married man alone. I know now that wasn't very smart. I heard that Will and Laura are having some troubles so I'm thinking that he might be the father."

"Damn, this just keeps getting better and better. Well I guess it's with Will that I ought to be having this conversation."

"He's supposed to be working at his place today. I can handle this with Jeremy. Why don't you go over to talk with Will once Jeremy gets back here?"

Jeremy returned with the wagonload of materials and Adam headed back to the house to change. He was surprised when he walked in that his father was not there, but Annie was sitting by the fireplace working on some sewing. Michele had been teaching her some basic skills so she could make new curtains. Annie liked it, and thought she might like to tackle something more complex in the future.

"Do you know where Pa is?"

"No, he's off on one of his mystery rides again. He always says he has 'something to do' and then comes back a few hours later. Why do you need to know?"

"I had that talk with Candy. He's not the father, and I wanted Pa to know because we had discussed that possibility. Now I'm going over to see Will. Seems he was helping Sue too during that time. If he's the father, I may deck him."

"Adam, you can't. That situation over there is bad enough from what Hoss says."

"I know, but I sure would like to."

"Go talk with him and find out what happened. You might be as surprised as you were with what you found out from Candy. I'd like to know the details of that talk sometime too."

"I'll tell you tonight."

"Ah, pillow talk, the best kind. Will that be before or after?"

Shaking his head, Adam bid his wife goodbye and headed over to see Will. When he got there, Laura was standing by Will near their stable. When she saw Adam riding up, she gave a small wave and headed to the house. Adam was surprised by that, but it was welcome because now he wouldn't have to come up with an excuse as to why he wanted to see Will privately.

"Somehow, I'm guessing it's me you want to talk with."

Dismounting, Adam tied Sport to the corral fence. "Yes. I need to find out what happened with Sue Anderson. Somehow I have to find the truth and then find a way to get Dave to believe it. I talked with Candy. He told me what he asked you to do. He feels badly about it thinking he pushed you into a bad situation."

"He did, but it's not probably what you think."

"And you know what I'm thinking?"

"Well, it is a guess, but I would suppose you think now that I'm the father of Sue Anderson's baby. I'm not. Yes, she tried, but I told her I had made a mistake like that once already and hurt someone very much. I would never do anything like it again no matter how attractive the situation."

That was probably the closest Will had ever come to admitting his duplicity with Laura. Adam believed him. "She tried then?"

"Yes. I think the woman has to be insatiable. I guessed that she had tried with Ben and with Candy and that's why I was asked to help out. It would have been nice if Candy had given me some warning because that woman is frightfully seductive."

"I'm sorry. It just seemed with how you and Laura are lately that you might have fathered that baby, and she was upset about it."

"No, Laura is upset about something else entirely. She's had several miscarriages. We thought the first one was God's punishment, I guess. She wasn't even sure if that one was mine or yours. But the next two have really hurt. The doctor has advised her that she may not be able to carry a child to term. We've both been sad about that but especially Laura. Whenever she sees another woman with a baby, it hits her so hard. That's why we leave events so quickly sometimes."

"I'm sorry, Will. I had no idea."

"Well, it's not you, Ben, Candy, or me. It can't be Hoss, and if I remember correctly, Joe can't stand to be around her. Who do you suppose the father is?"

"Damned if I know. This whole situation just got a whole lot worse. How can I talk some sense into Dave if I can't help him with that answer."

"The way she is, Adam, it could almost be anyone."

"Not anyone. It has to be someone with dark hair, darker eyes, and darker skin. This is going to take some work but the answer can't be too far away. She's never left town. Well give my regards to Laura and Peggy."

As Will waved goodbye, Adam was deep in thought. He headed home to discuss this with Annie and perhaps his father if he was home yet. He needed some ideas to figure out a way to pursue a solution to this mess. When he arrived home, there was a carriage there that he didn't recognize. He dismounted and walked to the house only to be met by Annie who came outside.

"You're never going to believe who's here."

Pausing only a moment, Adam had an idea. "Sue?"

"Darn, how do you do that?"

"More importantly, why is she here?"

"She got here just after you left. We've been talking." Annie recounted what had happened so far. "She's very upset. She's admitted she lied to Dave. She wanted him to get upset and leave her. She can't stand having him around. Apparently she tried to get any man she could thinking he would leave, but instead he got angry, very angry. So she said it was because of you. She said you had been over there having your way with her and laughing behind his back. She was hoping Dave would challenge you to a fight and be killed. It was another way she thought she could get rid of him. Then she worried she would have no money so she said the baby was yours hoping that you would pay them money to shut up. She planned to take the money and use it to leave Dave."

"And what about the baby?"

"She was going to take the baby with her. She does love the baby and the baby's father."

"Who is it?"

"She won't say other than he's from Virginia City, which we already had surmised, but that he's already married and can't get out of it. They both feel trapped, and it made them desperate. He was apparently the one who said that she ought to get some money from you."

With his head down and leaning against a porch post, Adam rubbed his forehead. "What a mess. Frankly I don't see any good way out of this. Got any ideas?"

"Only that maybe we should think about giving her the money to leave. Dave is drinking a lot and seldom home. She says when he does come home, he's always angry and has threatened her."

"That just doesn't seem to be the Dave I know. This has really messed him up. Well let's go inside and talk. We'll see what she thinks about your idea."

"Oh, there's one more thing. She said Dave has contacted someone named Poole and that you would know who that was."

Adam closed his eyes as he frowned. Then he looked at Annie and put his arms out for her. "Sweetheart, this whole mess just got a whole lot worse."

Inside the house, Sue seemed to get smaller as Adam walked in and over to her. She knew how badly she had messed things up and the Cartwrights especially Adam she was hoping would be her salvation.

"You're the one who should probably be horse whipped. Do you have any idea what you've done? Dave isn't the same man any more. He was a decent man even if you decided you didn't want to be with him any more. But now we have to deal with the aftermath. Annie wants me to give you the money so you'll leave. It's a matter now of how much?"

"I don't have anywhere to go. I guess the money isn't as important as having a place to live where I can raise my son. I could live with my parents, but since my father got hurt in the mine, they hardly have enough to feed themselves."

As Adam stood rubbing his forehead as he thought, Annie stepped beside him and took his arm. "Can we find some work for her father to do so that the family has enough money to live?"

"We could probably find some odd jobs for him to do to keep the family fed. We could also keep him on a retainer over the winter. Yes, so that that innocent child doesn't suffer, we can do enough, but that still doesn't solve the problem of Dave. Sue, you told Annie he contacted Poole. Do you know if Poole agreed to come here and do it?"

"I don't know. Dave just yelled that out to me during one of his outbursts."

"All right, I'll talk with my father tomorrow. You go to your parents' house in town, and we'll make arrangements by tomorrow to work this out. You do need to tell Dave the truth though or at least as much of it as you told us. I would guess that the whole truth will make him ready to leave you be, and that might settle all of this."

"I will if I can find him and he's sober. He's never sober when he comes home so waiting at the ranch for him is not a good idea. I'll try to find him in town in the morning and see if he'll listen to me."

With that, Sue took her leave after apologizing profusely for everything she had done and thanking them for still being willing to help her. She said she had no one else who could help. The tears and apologies seemed real, but with Sue, Adam knew it was best to be a bit skeptical. Annie agreed as did Ben when they explained the situation to him later.

Once Ben had returned home, Adam had told Annie and Ben about his conversations with Candy and with Will. He left out the news about the miscarriages that Laura had had because he didn't know if Will meant for him to share that with his family. The three of them agreed that they would work out the details in town the next day. That night in bed, Annie asked Adam if there was anything more he had to tell her so he explained about Poole. She had forgotten how worried he had looked upon hearing that name, and with his explanation, she shivered. Her fear that something would happen to Adam at the hands of Poole made her scared and the nausea that had left her alone for a few days reappeared. Adam got her some tea, and when she finished that, he rubbed her back until she fell asleep. Then he laid beside her and pulled her close to him, but stared at the moonbeam shining in the room and slept little the rest of the night worrying about Poole and Dave and what they might do.

Chapter 7

"Adam, no, don't do this!"

"Pa, I have to. Please don't interfere. You'll only make things worse."

So Ben stayed in the crowd that was gathering on the side of the street watching Poole and Adam face off. They had talked the night before and again that morning about the situation with Sue and Dave. The three of them had come to town to pick up supplies and make the arrangements that were needed. As Ben had walked out of the bank after getting the cash they would need, he saw Adam standing in the street facing Poole. Ben's heart began to pound, and all he could think about was stopping this gunfight before he would have to see his oldest son wounded or killed.

Standing in the morning sun in that street, Adam felt sweat running down his back even though the day was mild. He remembered being shot before with the force of the bullet slamming into him like a small steel fist and the searing heat of it entering his flesh followed by waves of pain radiating throughout his body it seemed. He knew Poole was an excellent marksman and wondered if a shot to his heart would be less painful for he might not have time to feel the pain before his life ended. But Annie would be alive because he had realized when he saw Dave standing there with an arm around her neck and a pistol to her ear that she was more important to him than his own life. Dave and his friends had walked behind them into the mercantile. They hadn't even realized they were being followed. What had started as a routine trip to town for supplies and to take care of their other errands had become this life and death scenario. Adam knew he could not defend himself against Poole. It was not only the threat that Dave would shoot Annie in the head if Poole failed. His arm was mostly useless after being hit by Dave's friends. They had hit his upper arm several times and a whack by an axe handle had numbed his hand and probably had broken a bone in his forearm. He had not been able to retaliate for fear of what Dave would do to Annie if he did. As a result, he would not be able to draw. He had tried to talk them out of what they were bent on doing but had failed at that too.

"Dave, guys, you may see me killed but you'll all be locked up. It's not just Annie's testimony that will send you to prison. All the other people in this store will know what you did and tell the story. Dave, there must be another way. Think about it."

"No, that's all I been doing is thinking about it. Everybody is laughing at me. My wife was stolen by Adam Cartwright right under my nose. I can't let that go. I can't. Now get outside. Poole's waiting for you."

So now Adam stood in the center of the street facing Poole knowing he would likely die soon. After what seemed to be a long time but was only about a minute, Poole told Adam that they would draw on the count of three. He counted off in a slow cadence and the crowd was silent expecting to see a man die before them. On three, Poole drew but Adam did not. He had his hand on the butt of his pistol but did not draw it even though Poole was pointing his weapon directly at Adam's chest aiming for a kill shot. Bent on finding Dave and telling him the truth finally, Sue had come from her parents' home. Frozen into immobility by the sight she saw in front of her, she looked around wondering where Dave could possibly be. When she heard what the two men said next, she had an idea of where he was and began edging around the two men standing in the street.

"Why won't you draw?"

"I can't."

As Poole walked closer with his gun pointed at Adam's chest, he saw that Adam had rapidly developing bruises on his face which was also bloodied. "What happened?"

"Poole, you have to shoot me. He'll kill my wife if you don't shoot me."

"Why didn't you draw if you wanted that?"

"I can barely lift my arm and my hand is numb. Dave's friends made sure I couldn't win. They were very enthusiastic about their work, but Poole you have to shoot me. Please? My wife's life depends on it."

There was a collective gasp and then silence from the crowd after they heard Adam's explanation. A few then yelled at Poole that it wasn't a fair fight hoping to dissuade him from shooting Adam. From the door of the vacant store, Dave stepped out holding Annie tightly against him with an arm around her neck and a pistol pointed at her temple. It was clear to everyone then even those who had just arrived and not heard the conversation why Adam was in the street facing Poole's challenge even though he couldn't draw his pistol.

"Shoot him, Poole. That was our deal. You shoot him down like the dog he is." Annie's face was red and her eyes were full of fear and anger, but there was nothing she could do. Dave was a powerful man, and his madness now drove him.

"I've never shot a helpless man in my life." Poole's eyes flicked from Adam to Dave and back again. It was an awkward position. He had made a deal with Dave Anderson to get Adam Cartwright into a gunfight. For only a minimum fee, Poole had agreed to Dave's offer. Poole felt he needed to defeat Adam because all those years ago this cowboy had beaten him to the draw. But then he and his father and brother had seen to Poole's medical care. He would not murder the man for that's what it would be if he shot him now.

"Why does he get to have everyone backing him and turning on me? Why?" Dave flung Annie aside and she crashed into the wall of the mercantile and dropped to the walk stunned. Then he pointed his pistol at Adam who was only about ten feet away.

"No, Dave, please don't. Adam's not the father. I just wanted to get money from him. It was ..." but that man would never be named because Sue ran into the line of fire as Dave pulled the trigger, and the bullet meant for Adam tore into her chest narrowly missing her son. Poole fired and his shot hit Dave dead center. Dave fell to his knees looking at his wife in the street. She had fallen backwards and her son had fallen from her arms as blood spurted from her chest for a moment and then stopped. Dave fell forward onto his face then. The only sound was the wailing of the forlorn and terrified child and the sound of a woman sobbing.

Staggering over to the walk in front of the mercantile, Adam called softly to Annie. She turned to look at him realizing that her worst fear had not been realized. Adam reached out his left arm and Annie pushed herself to stand and go to him, but then the two of them collapsed to the walk from all of the stress and physical abuse they had suffered. Adam sat cradling Annie with his left arm as she cried softly with her head buried against his chest. Poole walked to Adam who held his wife with one arm as the other hung at his side.

"I've never seen anything like that. You were gonna let me shoot you down to save your wife's life. You're something else, Cartwright. Someday we'll meet again. I'd still like to see which one of us would walk away from a fair fight now."

All Adam could do was nod. He had no snappy comebacks for his mind was blank. Ben walked up to Poole as he left.

"Mr. Poole, you're a gun for hire if I'm correct in my assumption."

"I am, Mr. Cartwright, but I don't break the law and I don't murder anyone."

"Mr. Poole, that's good to know. I would like to hire you for a job. How does five thousand dollars sound?"

"I'm surprised. I wouldn't have ever thought a man like you would pay a hired gun to do a job for him."

"I'll pay you five thousand dollars, and all you have to do is one thing, and it doesn't involve shooting anyone."

A little skeptical, Poole just raised an eyebrow and waited for the rest.

"I have that money with me right now. I'll pay you to stay out of Virginia City and not challenge my son to a gunfight. He's had enough. He's not a gunfighter. Is it a deal?" Ben held out the envelope of money that he and Adam had planned to give to Sue Anderson to enable her to leave town or to help support her if she chose to live with her parents. They would still offer Mr. Maitland some work so that he could support himself and his wife. Ben wondered suddenly if they would now have to care for their daughter's baby as well. His mind was snapped back to the moment as Poole took the envelope from his hand.

"I accept your terms and payment, Mr. Cartwright. Your son has nothing to fear from me ever again. I'll leave up to you to tell him that if you wish. Thank you, and goodbye." Poole mounted up and rode out of town. Roy had wanted to speak with him about the shooting but there were plenty of witnesses without him.

Walking back to Adam and Annie, Ben stood for a moment as the two of them worked to regain their composure. Once they stood, he told them he would walk with them to Doctor Martin's office. Adam objected, but Ben pointed out that his arm looked broken and Paul could splint it and wrap it for the ride back home. He could hardly object to that. Sitting in Paul's office later, Adam was not surprised when Roy walked in and wanted his statement. It was up to Roy to settle the whole matter finally and legally. With the statements from witnesses, Roy only needed corroboration from Adam and Annie to put this whole sorry story behind them. He did have one bit of news that surprised them though.

"The Maitlands have that baby now, but they said they can't take care of him. They want somebody to adopt that little boy. Poor little fella needs a home."

Looking at Adam with hope in her eyes, Annie saw that Adam was not going to jump at this chance. She planned to work on him about it though. Adam had the same question in his mind as his father but Ben asked first.

"Do they have any idea who the father is?"

"Her parents is in the dark as much as anybody was. I got a suspicion though. I'm gonna have a talk with a young man later and see what I can find out."

Refusing a sling for his splinted forearm, Adam did ask for his jacket. He felt chilled even though the weather was mild. Doctor Martin said it was a sign of shock, and warned him against doing anything too strenuous for a day or two. He had found that Adam had one cracked bone in his forearm, and a lot of swelling which was why his hand was numb. He was back on orders for light duty. Paul also had cleaned up the small abrasions on Annie's face and arm from being slammed into the wall of the mercantile by Dave. The bruising around her neck seemed to get worse by the minute. Paul could find nothing wrong though other than that. Ben got her shawl for her, and then escorted her to the carriage that she and Adam had used to ride into town. Adam climbed in, and with some help from Annie was able to get the team turned toward home. Ben said he was going to pay that visit to the Maitlands and then catch up to them.

As Adam drove the carriage into the yard at home, Hoss and Joe came out of the house to greet them. Having been away on a cattle drive for weeks, they had no idea of the events that had embroiled Adam and his wife. Adam climbed down and offered his hand to help Annie down.

"Well where you two been?" Hoss walked up and slapped Adam on the arm making him groan and lean against the carriage. "What's wrong? I only gave you a little tap. Your arm must be better by now." Then Hoss noticed the red marks on Annie's face and the bruising around her neck. "Dadburnit, what's been going on around here?"

Putting Adam's left arm around her shoulders, Annie began to walk to the house. "Come on inside. There's a lot to tell." Adam and Annie sat on the settee and told Hoss and Joe what had happened. Neither said anything until they were done talking.

"So Sue caused all of this because she was unhappy in her marriage. Now she's dead, Dave's dead, and that baby is all alone. It's really a shame. I'm sorry Hoss and I weren't here to help. Sounds like you could have used some help."

"Joe's right. We're real sorry we wasn't here to help out. Is there anything we can do for you now?"

Walking in the door about that time because his talk with the Maitlands took longer than expected, Ben was happy to see all of his present family sitting together. He walked over and sat down to tell them his news. "I'm so glad to see all of my family safe and sound. I met with Sue's parents. Mr. Maitland has agreed to do harness repair and other odd jobs for us. That will get him enough to support the two of them. Roy was right though. He wants to place Sue's baby for adoption. He says the two of them have enough worries with his disability and her arthritis that they don't think they could take care of a baby." Looking directly at Adam and Annie then, Ben continued. "They asked me to tell you that they think the two of you would be great parents for that baby if you're willing."

Ben's words hardly penetrated at first because Adam and Annie were still in some shock over the events of the morning. Hoss and Joe looked at the couple expectantly hoping they would say yes. To them, it sounded like a perfect solution. Annie looked at Adam with a smile hoping he was feeling the same way, but it was all too obvious that he wasn't.

"We can talk about it later, privately." Annie knew that the subject was closed with him until he had time to think it through. That night as they lay in each other's arms seeking comfort, Annie asked him if he was ready to talk about it. He said he wasn't and only wanted time with her.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow? We aren't going to do anything about it tonight anyway."

"I wish you would talk with me when you're like this. I feel like you're shutting me out."

Repositioning himself so that he could look directly into Annie's eyes, Adam looked down at her. "Sweetheart, I'm not. It's just that right now my thoughts are not coherent. I think one thing and then another. Looking down the barrel of Poole's pistol this morning has unnerved me a bit. I thought I was going to die. I thought I was leaving you all alone. I stood there and couldn't control the situation at all. I felt so helpless. I can't think about the baby until I get a chance to sort out all those feelings and thoughts."

"Thank you."

Confused, Adam looked for signs of whatever thought or emotion had driven that statement of gratitude. All he could tell was that Annie was smiling. "Why did you thank me?"

"You were honest with me. You told me what you were thinking. When you do that, I feel that you love me even more. Now if you think your arm can take it, will you make love with me? I want to be as close to you as I can get, and I can't think of a better way."

"Sweetheart, I'd have to be almost dead to say no to that offer." Adam leaned in to kiss Annie and she ran her hands over his bare chest and shoulders. Soon they were finding even more pleasure and comfort in each other's arms. Serious conversation was definitely being left for the next morning.

Chapter 8

"Annie, if we adopt this baby, then some people might think that Dave's accusations were true." Adam was taking Annie to see Doctor Martin. He was concerned that even after the stress had been reduced, she was still having trouble sleeping and had occasional bouts of nausea. It was three days after the incident with Poole and Dave in town. Annie had dark circles under her eyes, and was quite pale. The bruises on her neck were fading to green and brown. They had discussed adopting the Anderson baby quite a lot with no resolution because they didn't agree.

"Is that what you're worried about? Adam, this innocent baby needs a family, and I have a lot of love to give to him. To me, that's all that's important. Your reputation will recover. Your friends and family already know what's true and what's slanderous."

"I'm really trying to find reasons to convince you not to adopt this baby. It just doesn't feel right to me. I don't think we're ready to have a baby in our lives. You need to see the doctor first to see why you've been sick so often lately because you can't even think about adopting the baby if you're not in the best of health. Babies are a lot of work." Adam's heart was heavy as he worried that there was something seriously wrong with his wife. Witnessing his father's loss of two wives, and his own loss of Sue Ellen and Ruth as well as other failed relationships had made Adam pessimistic about a woman being with him. Annie's nausea and sleeplessness had triggered a lot of the old fears which probably amounted to a phobia by then.

"Oh, and how many babies have you had that you can make that pronouncement?"

"None, but I did a lot to help with Hoss especially after his mother was killed. It was a full time responsibility. Then when Joe was born, I was old enough to see how much work it was for Marie and how exhausted she was at the end of a day."

"Well, I'm pretty strong. I think I could handle it just fine."

"I know you are, but I also had another talk with Will, and he talked about their trouble with trying to have a baby. It's always on his mind, I guess. He wanted to know how everything was with us too. Then he said that he and Laura might be interested in adopting the baby."

"What kind of trouble and why would they adopt?"

"Those two answers are closely related. Laura has had three babies she has lost. Will said they have messed up her system quite a bit. The doctor has said that perhaps Laura will not be able to carry another child to term. Will is thinking that adopting this baby might be the best solution. It will give her a baby to love, and she can relax about having a baby."

"Yes, sometimes you do hear about people adopting and then having a baby. I guess that would be a better plan." Annie reluctantly agreed with Adam's logic, but then her own failure to have a child was back in the forefront for her. "Is that why Laura and Will have been so unhappy?"

Nodding, Adam wrapped an arm around Annie. He knew that she had the same sadness as Laura, but Laura had a child already. It accentuated what was a key difference between the two women. Annie bore her infertility and managed to live a fulfilling life despite it. Laura dwelled on what she could not have and made those around her suffer too. As Adam and Annie arrived at Doctor Martin's office, she was very quiet and said little even as they greeted Paul. They were still standing by the door of the office when they heard Roy hail them. He had news he thought they would want to know.

"Two days ago in the morning, Daniel Lash junior was found hanging in the stable at the back of his house. The family's hired hand who takes care of their yard and horses found him. He killed himself."

Annie was shocked. It seemed there was news of some kind of violent and tragic event every time they came to town. Perturbed that Roy would bring up another violent end when Annie had suffered through so much, Adam wondered why Roy was telling them. "Ray, why did you think you had to tell us that? Annie doesn't need to hear any more bad news."

"Well, now, you see I had my suspicions about who was the father of Sue Anderson's baby. I had seen her talking with young Daniel several times. Then I realized I had never seen her talking with another man except at a dance or such. So I went to see him. We talked privately and he said he wasn't the father of that baby, but I think he was lying. You know how when someone is lying they don't look at ya and they fidget around a lot. Well that was him. His wife is a harpy too but her pappy has a lot of money, probably more than Lash senior does. They don't have children either. Well now today he's dead. Kinda leads me to believe he must have been the father."

"So you think that there won't be a problem with someone adopting that baby because both parents are gone now?"

"That's about it, Annie. Just wanted you to know. Now I got to move around town and see that everything is all right. I hope there's nothing seriously wrong with either of you seeing as how you're at the doc's again."

"I'm fine, Roy, but Adam is worried about me and wants Paul to check me over again."

After bidding them adieu, Roy moved off to take his morning tour of town. Paul asked Adam and Annie why they were there, and after Adam's explanation, he asked Annie to go into an exam room. Adam stretched out in one of the chairs in the office area and waited for the doctor to complete the examination. He prayed that there was nothing seriously wrong.

Inside the exam room, Paul had Annie disrobe behind a curtain and then wrap a blanket around herself. He had a suspicion as to what was bothering her, and needed her to do that. Then he had her get on an exam table and lie down. Once he finished his exam, Annie was first shocked, then angry, then upset, and finally sitting in stunned silence. Her only thoughts were of Adam and how he would react when she gave him the news. It didn't take long. Adam walked into the exam room worried and looking almost as pale as Annie. Paul walked in behind him.

"Remember how you said we weren't ready to have a baby in our lives? Well, mister, you better get ready."

It took a moment for Annie's words to register, and then Adam looked at Paul. "How could this have happened? She doesn't have her flow."

"I already asked him that, Adam. He said it only takes one. I have one or two a year. Apparently that's enough."

"How far along is she then?"

"At least three or four months but it could be as much as five months. You need to start getting ready to welcome a baby into your family."

Paul waited. He suspected that in a very short time, there would be joy, but first they had to get past the shock. "Annie, when did you first start having these bouts of nausea?"

"About two months ago and then it got worse, but lately it's been not as often or as bad. Usually it's just a kind of queasy stomach now."

"That points to the four or five month range then. I think you're done with morning sickness. Your body is adjusting. You will need to avoid stress and probably don't eat any spicy foods. That's probably what's been giving you the queasy stomach, and when you have that problem in your stomach and lower, it makes it difficult to sleep. Drink some of Hop Sing's green tea in the evening, and keep those evening meals small."

"I get hungry late, and Adam brings me a snack. Is that all right?"

"I think hot chocolate and a cookie would be fine. Don't eat anything too heavy or greasy that might upset your stomach. Most people think hot chocolate helps them sleep anyway, so that might be a good thing to try."

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

"Adam, I've already talked with Annie about that. Relations are fine as long as you like the traditional and gentle. For the next three months, that should be it. Then in the last month, there needs to be abstinence so you don't trigger an early labor. No horseback riding or anything strenuous for Annie would be the last warning I can give you. Otherwise, Annie is strong and healthy so just prepare for a baby and enjoy the anticipation and the peace and quiet."

"Adam, your father is going to be so happy."

Finally, Adam grinned, hugged Annie, and kissed her soundly. Yes, he knew his father would be overjoyed. His brothers would probably be rather excited too. Suddenly he couldn't wait to leave so they could go tell everyone, except once they were in the carriage and headed out of town, they kissed and hugged which caused Adam to drive the carriage off the road and into a meadow almost as soon as they reached the Ponderosa. They had picked up a lunch to go because Annie was hungry, but they didn't want to stay in town to eat.

"Now? You want to stop here and do it now?"

"We have a lap blanket from the carriage, a picnic lunch, a beautiful meadow, and a gorgeous day. What better way to celebrate our news with each other?"

With no argument with that logic, Annie climbed down from the carriage with Adam waiting to hold her. He ran his hand over her lower abdomen but couldn't tell if there was a bump there or not.

"There is. I thought I was eating too much and gaining weight. Well that's probably true, but now I know why I was gaining weight there. Oh, Adam, this is a dream come true for me."

Throwing her arms around Adam's neck, Annie pulled him down for a kiss. He kissed her deeply for a long time. Then he released her so he could get the carriage blanket that he spread on the grass near the carriage. Then he turned to Annie who laid down demurely on the blanket and patted the empty space beside her. Grinning, he joined her there, and the two of them celebrated their joy and love for each other in the most ancient of ways. When they finished, they lay languidly entwined on the blanket until they heard two horses approaching. Then they hurriedly pulled their clothing back together and straightened everything as best they could in a hurry. Adam stood to pull the lunch from the carriage as Hoss and Joe rode up.

"We rode over cause we saw the carriage stopped here and knowing you was worried about Annie's health, we figured we ought to see ifn you needed help. It seems you're not worried about Annie any more."

"Oh, Hoss, we got such good news from the doctor. Hoss, Joe, we're going to have a baby!"

Both brothers swung down off their horses then and grabbed one of the two in a hug and then switched. Hoss slapped Adam on the back so hard he almost knocked him over because Adam still had the splint on his arm and needed to grab for the carriage across his body with his left hand.

"Ah, sorry about that older brother, but dadburnit, I'm just so blamed happy. I thought you two thought you couldn't have a baby."

"Big brother, we did think that, but we were wrong."

"Boy howdy, Joe, this is a great day. Adam and Annie are gonna have a baby, and Adam done admitted he was wrong about something."

"Yeah, we oughta get going, Hoss. I want to be there when they tell Pa. He's going to be tickled pink. Maybe he'll stop pressuring us to find a gal and get married."

"Nah, maybe for a while, but he'll be back at it in no time. We'll see you two back at the house. Have a nice picnic." Laughing deeply then, Hoss rode to join Joe who was already galloping away.

Soon Adam and Annie were on their way home as well. Lunch had been delicious, but they were both so hungry by then, they devoured the food in minutes. Annie was hoping Hop Sing had some donuts or cookies because dessert seemed like it would be appropriate considering the occasion and the fact that she was still hungry. The nausea had vanished with the news. Apparently the stress of their discussions about adopting the Anderson baby had been causing the problem. She felt wonderful as they drove home. Ben was in the house and Cochise and Chubb were tied up outside. Adam helped Annie from the carriage and they walked arm-in-arm to the house. Once inside, Ben had guessed their news before they could actually say it. The excited looks of Hoss and Joe who had brought Jeremy into the house with them, and the glowing smiles of Adam and Annie left little to guesswork. After congratulations and questions, Ben went to tell Hop Sing the news and ask him to prepare a meal for a celebration. Then he added that Annie would like some cookies and tea if it wouldn't be too much trouble. Although Hop Sing fussed at Ben for that request, he was all smiles when he brought a plate of cookies and cup of tea out to the great room.

"Mister Hoss and Mister Jeremy no eat cookies until Missy Annie eat all she want. Hop Sing have no more, so men must let lady eat first."

All the men agreed even though the aroma of those cookies made them all hungry. Annie couldn't take the looks so she grabbed three cookies, and then told them they could have the rest. Smiling in triumph, she realized she had that power over the men now, and she got three cookies to one for each of them too. This being with child thing could work out well for her she thought. Dinner was similar with Hop Sing serving Annie first instead of Ben, and making sure she had anything she wanted. By the end of dinner, she was stuffed and asked if it would be all right if she lay on the settee and read for a time. Of course everyone agreed that would be fine.

Thinking that his father wasn't as happy about their news as they had expected, Adam followed him outside when Ben said he needed a little night air. Walking out about a minute behind Ben, Adam saw his father leaning on the corral fence with his head down. Quietly Adam walked up beside him and waited.

"You always know when something is wrong, don't you?"

"I try to pay attention. What's wrong, Pa? I thought you would be dancing a jig knowing you were going to be a grandfather."

"I am in my heart, but my mind is full of worry about another matter. I found out something this morning that I have been thinking about all day."

"What is it? You know we'll help you with anything that could be wrong. You're not going to shock me with anything especially after everything that happened lately."

Shaking his head and wondering how his sons would actually react to the predicament in which he had mired himself, Ben only could say a few words before he choked up. "It's not exactly something that is wrong. It's just a terrible predicament from which I see no escape. Son, I'm going to be a father again."

"Pa, that's wonderful isn't it? We thought you were seeing someone, but we had no idea it had gotten so serious. Are you going to tell us who it is now?"

Feeling as miserable as he could imagine, and downright embarrassed too to have to admit that he had violated a rule they all held sacred, Ben also shocked Adam who thought he couldn't be shocked. "It's just that the situation is far more complicated than that. My reputation and the reputation of this family is going to be smeared with scandal. The slander against you is going to seem like child's play compared to this. Oh, Adam, I've fallen in love with a married woman."

Chapter 9

That night, Adam didn't sleep well. Annie felt him tossing and turning and that interrupted her sleep as well. She assumed that there Adam needed some time to adjust to his new status as an expectant father, but she hoped that he would sleep better the following night because she was exhausted when it was time to get up. Adam told her she should just stay in bed, but she didn't want to get in that habit. Then when they got to the breakfast table, conversation between Adam and his father was negligible. Annie had expected that they would have all sorts of things to say about the baby who would be arriving in about four months. Hoss and Joe more than made up for the lack of conversation by the other two men.

"Hey, Annie, is Adam going to want to name him William Shakespeare Cartwright if it's a boy? Or maybe he would like Macbeth better." Chuckles and laughter followed each suggestion each more outlandish than the previous.

Hop Sing had made a gargantuan breakfast for them and was disappointed it wasn't all eaten. Hoss took more then.

"Hop Sing, everything was delicious and wonderful to smell as well as see. You did a marvelous job preparing and presenting the meal, but I just can't eat any more. This little baby isn't as hungry as I thought. Perhaps, I could have some of these flaky golden biscuits later as a snack, and then perhaps some of those juicy ham slices for lunch?" Annie's praise had the desired effect, and Hop Sing readily agreed to her suggestion. He grabbed the plate of biscuits and platter of ham returning to the kitchen with a smile.

"Why don't you talk to me like that?"

"You don't give me flapjacks with honey for breakfast whenever I ask."

"I'm not much of a cook, but I thought I gave you other things you like."

"Oh yeah, you gave me this baby who made me sick for two months and now it's going to make me fat, thank you so very much for that." It was sassy but delivered with a smile so it only made Adam shake his head as his brothers roared with laughter. Then the three brothers headed out for the day's work as Ben headed to his desk to work. Annie pulled out the curtains she was sewing. They were nearly done, and now she realized she would need to start working on items for the nursery. She was thinking for a time as she worked, and then walked over to talk to Ben who seemed to be staring at the ledgers instead of working on them.

"Papa Ben, I have a few questions."

"Yes, dear, can I help?"

"I hope so. Is there a cradle here, or are we going to need to get one?"

"There's a cradle in the attic. We had one for Joseph. There's a small trundle bed up there too. I seem to recall that there might even be some gowns up there packed away. They might be too old to use, but you could use them as patterns for new ones."

"Oh good. Then as soon as I look those over, I'll need to go to town to get some fabric. Which room do you think we should use for a nursery? I want to make curtains too."

"Well, you and Adam might want to talk about moving into the larger guest room upstairs. It has an adjoining door to the smaller guest room. It would make a small family suite if you wanted to do that."

"That's a wonderful idea. Yes, I'll talk to Adam about that. Is there something else bothering you? I thought you would be more excited about the baby."

"Yes, I do have some things on my mind. I'm just trying to think through how to handle some things."

"Is it Michelle?"

Almost jumping with the shock of Annie saying her name, Ben could only stare at his daughter in law.

"It wasn't that hard for me to guess. You slipped a little in the restaurant one day too calling her Michele instead of Madame Fourier, but I already wondered because Adam said he thought you were seeing someone secretly, and when Michele and I talked, she always had questions about you interspersed with the expected ones about Adam. Then there was the way she looked at you and you at her whenever you met."

"I'm glad that my son married you. He certainly found his intellectual match."

"Are you upset about the baby because I thought you would be overjoyed?"

"I am filled with joy. I used to worry so much that Adam would leave to seek out his future somewhere in the world. Then when he married you, I wondered if the two of you would go or stay. Now that you're having a baby, he's all excited about being here with family in the only real home he's ever known. I am filled with joy."

"But?"

"Did Adam tell you?"

"Tell me what? Oh, I know something is bothering him, but I thought he was just trying to get used to the idea that he was going to be a father. Is there something more because you know how well that man can keep a secret?"

"We met at first because we were both lonely. She is married, but her husband left her years ago. I hadn't found any woman to be with me, and I was lonely for female companionship. We enjoyed time together talking and laughing. We read and liked some of the same books, and she reads newspapers as avidly as Adam and I do so there was so much to discuss. We would talk, have a meal together, and sometimes take a walk. That's all there was until I lost my good sense one day and kissed her. I knew it was wrong, terribly wrong, but I just couldn't stop myself."

"Where is her husband?"

"In San Francisco as far as she knows. He moves around a lot. They have no children, and he has had numerous women from all sorts of backgrounds. It was his appetite for other women that caused them to separate."

"How long ago?"

"Just before she came here so about ten years ago. She couldn't bear the humiliation of everyone knowing her husband was jumping from one woman's bed to another."

"Why don't they just divorce and get it over with?"

"They're Catholic. He will not consent to a divorce, and she thinks it's a sin to even contemplate it."

"There must be more for you to be this upset. Otherwise you could just keep going on as you have been." Annie thought for just a moment and then gasped. "Is Michelle going to have a baby too?"

"Now you know the depth of my shame over the humiliation I have brought to my family and to the woman I love. I can't see a solution. I will have a child that the law will consider a bastard and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Did you explain all of this to Adam?"

"No, I got the first part out, and I know I shocked him. That's not easy to do as you probably already know. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the rest. You're easier to talk to about this. I don't worry that I'll see condemnation in your eyes. You're very good at this. Have you thought about joining the clergy because you have a gift?"

"No, I think that I'm just fine right where I am. But I do think you need to tell Adam or really all of your sons everything. If I guessed, there must be other women who have guessed. Rumors may already be spreading. We were so engrossed in this other drama, we didn't pay attention, but I would think it's already an item of conversation among our town gossips."

"How could they know?"

"Papa, I assume Michele comes to meet you regularly. Well as soon as she leaves town like that and heads toward the Ponderosa, they already had some clues. She's too much older than Joe and Hoss would be more open about a relationship. Adam was already taken, so they would naturally have assumed it was you. How old is she, by the way, because I've wondered?"

"She's quite a bit younger than I am. She's only five years older than Adam."

There was the sound of a horse in the yard then. Ben wondered if it was one of his sons but Annie said it wasn't as she went to answer the door. Ben told her to wait so he could answer the door. It was Will, and with one eyebrow crooked up in a question, he looked at Annie.

"I can tell their horses apart. It didn't sound like any of them."

"Adam said your hearing is remarkable, and it is quite discerning as well. Will, welcome. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, Uncle, there is. I want to sell my ranch to you. Laura and I are adopting the Anderson baby."

"Congratulations! That's great news, but why do you want to sell the ranch?"

"Ben, I was never cut out to be a rancher. There are some job opportunities in California, and now that Laura has a baby to love, she's agreeable to moving. We'll be much closer to her Aunt Lil, and she likes that idea a lot. Peggy will miss all of you especially Adam, but this way I think we'll get closer and be a real family especially with the baby."

"I'll talk with the boys, but I can't see that any of them would have an objection. We could meet in town tomorrow if that's agreeable, and work out all the details. The boys are all in the southeast pasture if you want to ask them yourself and give them your news."

"There's one other thing, Ben. I know you asked Will Maitland to do odd jobs around here. But he and his wife were a bit upset to learn we were planning to move to California, so Laura and I invited them to come with us. I'll be traveling a lot in my job, and Will can handle all the chores around our home when I'm gone. Will's wife Clara will probably find the warmer climate better for her arthritis, and Laura will have some help and some company too. They're willing to become the grandparents in the family to their own grandson and to give Peggy more of an extended family. I think that's important."

"Will, it sounds as if you have worked out a wonderful solution for everyone. I'm sure my boys would agree."

Smiling because Ben still referred to his sons as boys, Will agreed to do that and left. Annie asked if she could ride into town with them the next day so she could do some shopping for fabric, and of course she wanted to share her news with Michele, and she expected that Adam would be telling his friends too.

"Papa, you need to talk with your sons about your other concerns before you go into town. It would be cruel for them to find out by someone's ugly remark, and you know that's possible."

"Would you tell Adam? He knows quite a bit already but you can fill in the rest. I'll talk with Hoss and Joe separately."

Nodding, Annie got back to her sewing, but her mind was in a whirl. She understood how Ben could not concentrate. It was quite a mess, and she hoped that when she and Adam talked that they might come up with some ideas because right then it seemed like there was no way out. Annie's talk with Adam went so much better than Ben's talk with his younger sons. Adam had been tempted more than once by married women. Seductive, beautiful women were not always satisfied with the one to whom they were married, and if their eyes were wandering, it wasn't unusual for them to wander in the direction of Adam Cartwright. He had been close to making that kind of mistake in his life, and understood how just a little change in circumstances could have landed him in the same kind of mess his father was in. He and Annie discussed it at length. She wanted to know who those married women were and he wouldn't tell her.

"You said we had to be honest with each other. Why won't you tell me? It seems kind of important to know what women are lusting after my husband."

"Only if you don't trust me." Adam stared her down after that one.

"I do trust you. Maybe I'm just a little insecure."

"I love you more than life itself. Haven't I proved that to you? I would never be with another woman now no matter what she does."

"I'm sorry for doubting you. Can I blame the fact that I'm with child and acting all emotional now?" She grinned at him looking up and batting her eyelashes.

"I'll let you get away with that one, but never question my love for you. Trust me and love me, and we can face anything together."

Then Annie mentioned the move to the adjoining guest rooms that Ben had suggested, and Adam thought it was a fine idea. It would no inconvenience anyone else, and it would give them a private area.

"Do you think we'll ever have a house of our own?"

"Sweetheart, I didn't know you wanted one."

"Well, the biggest reason is Jeremy, I guess. I would like him to be able to live like part of the family and not in the bunkhouse."

"All right, we can start thinking about some options then. If you want it to be soon, then Will and Laura's house will be available soon. If you want one built on a site we choose, that will take probably four to six months."

"Oh, so we could have a new house by the time the baby gets here."

"Maybe, it would be close. From your reaction, I guess that would be the option you prefer."

"Yes, living in Laura's house with all the memories wouldn't be good. I really would like a fresh start. I'll talk to Jeremy tomorrow to see what he would like to do."

"It's a plan. I want to talk with Pa yet tonight to see how things went with Hoss and Joe. My guess would be that it was pretty rough on him."

In that assumption, Adam was correct. Hoss thought he would never do anything like that nor could he even conceive of a situation in which he would be with a married woman. He hadn't been in anything like that so had no understanding. Joe was too young yet to see how complex situations like that could develop without either party realizing what was happening. Ben and Michele had meant to be friends and offer companionship and comfort to ease each other's loneliness. Neither had thought their relationship would develop into an affair nor that such a new relationship could so quickly result in a pregnancy. Michelle had never gotten pregnant with her first husband in the ten years she had been with him before the anger and bitterness of a loveless marriage caused their separation. She was distraught over her circumstances and thought she had no one to turn to for help. Ben knew he would have to go to her aid, and that would blow the whole scandal wide open exposing all of his family to ugly publicity. Adam listened and asked a few questions as the two sat up late talking and sipping brandy in front of the fire.

"Adam, shouldn't you be upstairs with your wife? I don't want to cause any problems for the two of you."

"Annie knows where I am and what I'm doing. Pa, tomorrow, I think I ought to be the one to go see Michele. I can go with Annie, and it will look quite normal to anyone who's being nosy. You and Will can go to the bank and the land office and get that all squared away. I don't know if it's a good idea for Hoss and Joe to come with us unless they've settled down by morning. They've got a lot to think about, but I saw them as I was coming down here, and they're hurt and resentful right now."

"Talking with them didn't go nearly as well as talking with you. You've never been in my situation, I hope."

"No, but I've been tempted, and I understand how it could have happened. Pa, it was so natural to happen, and yet I could understand why neither of you saw that. You so much wanted a friend and companion, you didn't look ahead far enough to see what the progression of your relationship would be. But now there's a baby to consider, and Michele's reputation as well as yours. Let me talk to her and see if there's something we could do."

"All right. You go see her. Maybe we can keep the gossip hounds at bay for a little while yet."

Chapter 10

"Joe, you have to give Pa some understanding. Any one of us can make a mistake, and we have. Why can't you see that Pa is suffering and needs us now?"

"He's always preached to us about the sanctity of marriage, and how we have to uphold the family reputation. Then he goes out and does this. How can I just ignore that?"

"Joe, what are you really upset about? I know you've been tempted just as I have by married women practically throwing themselves at you. You must realize that in this case, Pa and Michele were just planning to be friends. He didn't intentionally chase after a married woman."

"No, but Adam, she's going to have a baby. None of us have ever done anything like that."

"Haven't you ever been worried about that, Joe? Haven't you waited sometimes for the lady to say it was all right and she wasn't with child?"

At that, Hoss had to speak up. "You mean the two of you been having relations with women who don't work at those houses? You been messing with single gals you weren't gonna marry?" From the looks on their faces, Hoss knew it was true. "I guess I just always figured if that happened, I would marry the gal. I wouldn't wait to see if she was carrying my baby."

"Hoss, I never set out to do that, but if she was willing and wanted me to, I wasn't saying no."

"Does Annie know that?"

Shrugging his assent, Adam didn't know what to say. He had always assumed that Hoss had been intimate with some women too but hadn't realized it was only with the women who did that for a living. He looked over at Joe who shrugged too probably drawing all the same conclusions as well as agreeing with Adam's assessment of how he proceeded with women.

"We need to talk about Pa though. Now Michele is married, but she's been separated from her husband for ten years. He wanted to keep seeing other women when they married, and she put up with his adultery for ten years before she left. I'm going to go talk with her today and see what we might be able to do about all of this."

"Adam, what can anyone do? She's married to one man and carrying another man's child. No matter what, there's going to be a big mess, and the people are going to be talking and making nasty remarks all the time."

"Joe, I don't know, but there's got to be something we can do. I'll talk with Michele, and we'll go from there. Can the two of you at least be willing to listen and not make any more remarks to hurt Pa? He's suffering right now and could use some support instead of your disapproval. You know that if this was one of us, he'd be there at our side trying to help us through it."

That remark really hit home. Both Joe and Hoss nodded. They had made some unpleasant remarks at breakfast and then stomped out to the stable to do chores and commiserate with each other over how unpleasant things were going to get for them. Adam had made sure to remind them that is was their father who was suffering the most, and that he would have been upset with them if they had done the same but would have been at their side helping too. Breakfast had been unpleasant, but Adam hoped the tension would be reduced. He was worried too about Annie and didn't like this added stress either. He was going to do anything he could to make things better for all of them.

With Hoss and Joe helping, Adam quickly had the carriage ready to go. They saddled up Buck, Chubb, and Cochise too. When Ben and Annie came outside to go to town, Ben had tears in his eyes as he thanked his sons for their support.

"Pa, we jest needed some time to get used to the idea. We'll help any way we can."

"Thank you, Hoss."

"I'm with you, too, Pa. We'll see this through together, not that there won't be a few comments at your expense over the next few months."

"Months?"

Chuckling a little, Joe had to respond. "Well, weeks at least. You can't expect us to just let this go so easily. It's not often we get to do this."

The family rode together to town, and then split up with Adam and Annie going to see Michele and the others meeting Will at the bank. Michele's eyes were red rimmed and it was clear she had not slept much the night before. Ben had looked about the same at breakfast. Annie's heart almost broke knowing that the two of them should be with each other and comforting each other, but that wasn't possible at that point. With no one in the store, Adam got right down to business.

"We need to look like we're working on some purchases. We'll talk though. Michele, you told Pa that Jacques won't divorce you because you're Catholic and that you won't consider it either for the same reason. Have either of you considered annulment?"

"In the eyes of the Church, I think we would still be married because we had a religious marriage ceremony."

"But what if we could get the Church to annul the marriage?"

"Is that possible?"

"It is. It will be difficult, and in the religious court, you will be held responsible because you deserted your husband. But there are no children and you have been apart for ten years so as long as all the fees are paid, it should work as long as Jacques can be convinced to do it."

Michele's countenance which had been so hopeful dropped back into a hopeless sadness. "Jacques comes from a prominent family. I cannot see him doing this for me."

"Wouldn't an annulment and a chance for him to marry someone of status be important enough for him to consider this?"

"Jacques is very proud. He was so angry and humiliated when I left, I cannot see him willingly doing this."

"Tell me more about him. Tell me what he likes and dislikes."

Pausing for a time in thought, Michele told Adam what she thought he wanted to know. "He is proud as I said, and although he loves money dearly, he is amazingly generous to his friends. He enjoys the nightlife far more than the usual man. He angers easily but you would find it hard to tell for he never seems to lose his temper. His voice gets lower and his eyes narrow. Sometimes there is a nervous twitch by his right eye. I had to learn the signs because he is also a violent man, and although he would never go beyond the law, he would do whatever he could do legally. He has dueled men to the death, and beaten a man to death with his fists which was ruled self defense except the man was leaning against the bar unconscious when those last blows were struck. Jacques would not let him fall but hit him in the temple until he died. Then he calmly let him fall. It was all in the papers. The man's family was incensed, but there was nothing they could do. Jacques had to tone down his violence after that though because his family did not approve of such public displays. His parents have died leaving everything to him, but I would think he has used up a lot of that wealth already indulging his appetites. I have never seen him afraid of anything. He is arrogant and supremely confident in himself and his abilities."

Listening intently, Annie was suspicious. "Did he hurt you?"

Sighing deeply, Michele nodded.

"How badly?"

"I needed to see the doctor on a number of occasions. Other times, I hid the bruises as well as I could."

Standing next to Adam, Annie felt the tension in his body. He could not tolerate the thought of men hitting women. She would need to talk with him about this before he left for San Francisco because that is exactly what she thought he would do. He told Michele that he would speak with his father and work out a plan, but Annie suspected he already had a plan in mind based on the questions he had asked Michele.

"And Michele, I don't think that you and Pa ought to change your habits. Make the trips you usually would make, and do whatever you would usually do. The gossips will notice a change in behavior faster than anything else. Try to maintain the pretense you have labored so hard to uphold at least until we can do something about Jacques. Please?"

Agreeing with Adam's idea, Michele wrapped up a few items that Annie said she wanted to have on hand to wear as she grew larger with child. The mention of that made Michele look exceedingly sad again, and Annie gave her a hug just as several ladies entered the shop.

"Oh, Michele, there isn't anything wrong, is there?" The gossip mongers were eager for scraps at this point. Adam quickly announced though that he and his wife were expecting a child, but he said he hoped they would keep it just among themselves for a time because it was still four months away at least. They tittered, they smiled, agreed, and then hurried off to tell all of their friends probably.

"Thank you, Adam. That will keep their attention from me for a time I would think. I am so very happy for you too. I know that it was not something you expected, but I can see how joyous you are. Please, if there is anything I can do, let me know. I have patterns for baby gowns, and shawls for mothers to wear."

"Oh, Michele, would you help me with patterns? I want to sew some gowns but I've never done anything like that. I don't even know what fabrics to use."

"I will do that. I will get together some patterns, and some fabrics and thread for you to choose from. You can add ribbons and such later when you know it is a boy or a girl."

"That would be wonderful. How about Saturday? If you could come to the ranch, we could spend the day doing that. You could have lunch with us."

"I don't know about that. How will the rest of the family feel about me being there?"

"They will be fine. It will take some getting used to for all of us, and there's no time like the present to start."

With Michele's agreement to come to the ranch on Saturday, Adam picked up their packages and escorted Annie to the carriage. He headed the carriage to the bank expecting that his family should probably be nearly finished with the paperwork. As he arrived there, he was hailed from the front of the land office. Ben was there with Will.

"Everything is done. Will has the money and it's been deposited. The bank will handle the transfer to a California branch. The deed is on file now. The Anderson ranch is up for sale too. What do you think about buying that and renting it out?"

"That's a good investment. They have some wonderful pastureland that we could use if we decide to expand the herds. The pastures are also lower than some of ours and more accessible in the winter. I would think we could rent the farm buildings and a little land but we could incorporate those pastures right away so we have them if we need them. With no timber and rather hilly though, I would think that there wouldn't be many interested buyers. Who's selling it?"

"James Cartwright."

Surprised at the name at first, Adam and Annie suddenly realized that Will and Laura's new son was the heir to that ranch. Will was smiling.

"We plan to put the money away in a trust fund for him. When he gets older, we'll tell him about his first parents. He'll already know his grandparents."

Everyone was thoughtful with that. The boy would have a lot to adjust to when he got all that information. It would be a tough job for Will and Laura to have to tell him what had happened, but he deserved to know so Adam was glad they would tell him the truth.

"We may have a cash flow problem after buying Will's ranch, but he's willing to have us make payments over the next several years because there's no rush to get the money. Will and Laura will be leaving on Saturday."

Annie was going to say something but Adam grabbed her elbow and turned her toward him. His look was all she needed to know that he didn't want her to say anything about Michele coming to work with her on Saturday and being there for lunch. As they stood there, the same ladies who had been in Michele's shop came up to them.

"Oh, congratulations on the baby, Mr. Cartwright. Adam told us the wonderful news. Never fear, we'll keep it hush hush until it is more proper to tell everyone. It is so wonderful that your eldest son has found a wife who can give him children. Now is there anyone special in your life?"

Looking to Adam as the ladies were interrogating him, Ben could tell that Adam had not said anything about he and Michele although of course the wouldn't have expected him to. It was just that the way they phrased the question had shaken him a little although no one could tell from his demeanor.

"We are all very happy for Adam and Annie, and we thank you for your kind thoughts. Now Will needs to get going. He has just sold his ranch, and he needs to get home and start packing so he and Laura and the two children can head to California on Saturday."

It was a nifty piece of deflection for the ladies suddenly wanted to know about Will and Laura instead of prying into Ben's life. Will mentioned his new job in California and being closer to Aunt Lil, and that the Maitlands were going with them. The ladies were beside themselves with the bonanza of exclusive information they had just gotten and couldn't wait to rush off to tell everyone and revel in their status as the preeminent sources of information in the town. As the ladies took their leave, Adam grinned at his father.

"That was magnificent. They won't be prying into your life for at least another day or two. As soon as Will and Laura drive that wagon through town though, watch out."

"Ya, Pa, you better not be in town for a while. Joe and me will just have to handle all them errands to town ya gotta make. We'll take turns, won't we, Joe?"

"Yeah, oh yeah, and we won't take any more time doing those errands than you would, Pa, honest."

"Yes, Joseph, I'm sure you won't because I will not be accepting your brother's offer. If there's anyone who will do some of those errands for me, it will be Adam."

"Ah, Pa, we need to talk about this at home. Maybe we ought to get going while the coast is clear."

That night on the Ponderosa around the dining table after dinner, Adam laid out his plan. It would cost them some significant money, and would probably require liquidating some investments but Adam had a plan for that too.

"We have had good years and lean years with those silver mine investments we made. We have no control over the price of silver or whether the government will buy it for coining money. Those investments could be liquidated easily if we offer the whole package to one of the big corporations. It's how silver mining is going anyway."

"I worry about those corporations, Adam. Are you sure this is the way you want us to go?"

"It's the way we need to go. We have to have that money, and we aren't going to give up any pastureland or timber. The prices for silver are high right now. We can sell for a good price. If we regret the decision, we only need wait until the price of silver drops again and those shares will plummet in price, and we can buy again for less than we sold these for."

"Pa, it sounds like a good plan all around to me. I vote to trust Adam on this one, and let him try to work out the deals he's talked about."

"I agree with Hoss, Pa. This sounds like the only way out of this mess if it works."

"All right then. I'll agree. How much time do you think this will take?"

"No more than a month, I hope. Maybe I could finish in two to three weeks if all goes well and everyone is agreeable."

Annie gasped a little at that. She had no idea Adam might be gone that long. That night, they made love as they usually did, but afterwards, Annie was a bit sad. Adam understood why but asked her if she saw any other way to help Ben and Michele. She had no ideas so she buried her head on Adam's chest and cried a little. He held her, and promised that if it took longer than two weeks, he would come get her and they would take another trip to San Francisco. That helped a lot, and the two of them snuggled in to sleep in each other's arms for the last time for a while.

The next morning after breakfast, Adam walked outside with Annie. The two stood holding each other for quite some time as if trying to memorize all the sensations of their embrace. Annie was sad but trying not to show it. When Adam kissed her goodbye though, she couldn't help herself and a tear ran down her cheek. Adam gently kissed it away and promised to be back as soon as he could. Ben watched the couple from the window by his desk, and the guilt that was weighting him down grew heavier.

Chapter 11

As Adam rode to town, he had second thoughts. Finally, he knew what he had to do. He turned his horse and rode home. When he arrived and walked inside, Ben looked at him in consternation but understood as soon as Annie rushed into Adam's arms.

"It would be wrong to leave you here to cope by yourself. I have to go now, but will you join me as soon as you can? You need to pack, and think about any commitments you have, but then I would like to see you heading my way. Perhaps Joe or Hoss could come with you?" Adam looked at Ben who nodded. They would not let Annie travel alone, but he already had an idea of who ought to escort her to California to meet Adam. Adam pulled Annie outside with him and kissed her soundly and with a lot more enthusiasm than he had earlier. The first parting had been bittersweet, but this time it was full of hope and promise. There were no tears except for tears of joy, and Annie was all smiles this time as she watched her husband mount up and ride away. Adam turned and gave her a jaunty salute before riding rapidly toward town. He still wanted to make the noon stage but would have to hurry now. Sport liked it when he got to run all out. He wouldn't be getting much exercise for some time so Adam thought it was a good thing. He would tip extra big at the livery in town so that they would wipe him down thoroughly and let him cool down with a walk.

The trip to San Francisco was routine. After settling into his hotel room, Adam went to meet with a lawyer first. He wanted to make sure everything could be done. He had gotten Michele's permission to legally act on her behalf, and the lawyer agreed to work with him. Next he contacted Jacques Fourier and asked to meet with him on a matter of importance. The next day at lunch, Adam was able to meet Jacques and take the measure of the man. Jacques ordered wine with his lunch and ate rich sauces with meat in them. He finished off his meal with a cigar. He offered one to Adam who declined.

"Now that we have had a fine meal, what is the matter of importance you wish to discuss with me?"

"I want to be honest with you from the start. I represent Michele Fourier." Adam saw Jacques' eyes narrow and there was a slight reddening to his face. Otherwise he remained quite calm. "She has an interest in having her marriage to you annulled by the Church. Because she abandoned you, it would be up to you to pursue an annulment."

"And why would I do such a thing? I cannot see a reason that I would want to do something to please my wife who has not been a wife to me for ten years and has forced me to seek comfort elsewhere and to have to endure the gossip of this town."

"There is certainly an expectation that you would not do this gratis. I am prepared to offer you five thousand dollars for the Church annulment and then another five for a civil divorce."

"That is a pittance! The fees the Church would demand from one such as myself would take that five thousand and I would have nothing."

"Then how about if we pay the fees to the Church, and you keep the whole five thousand for the annulment. I have engaged an attorney who could file the necessary divorce papers, and you could keep that entire five thousand as well."

"And what is your interest in my wife? Have you perhaps fallen for her witch's charms and now seek to have her for yourself?"

"No, I am married. I act on her behalf because she is a friend of my wife, and my wife is also close to the man Madame Michele would like to marry."

"And where would you get this money you promise me?"

"Madame Michele owns her own business and the man to whom she would like to be married is also a property owner. There is enough money to take care of this business, and free you to marry perhaps someone of a more prestigious social status than a dressmaker. You will be initiating both the annulment and the divorce so you would save face as the man who shunned the wife who created such a scandal for him."

"If it is so important to her and her new conquest, then I think that ten thousand for each would be appropriate."

"I will have to consult with my lawyer and others before I could consider a larger amount. But I have discerned that you are not opposed to the idea, and that may sway my clients into finding a way to procure the larger amounts. I cannot be sure that they would be able to pay twenty thousand dollars plus the fees to the Church, but I will see how much more they are willing to expend on this. Shall we say lunch again tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mister Cartwright, that would be acceptable. I will be here and willing to discuss your requests. Till we meet again, then. Good day to you, sir." Jacques stood and bowed. Then he and his retinue left the restaurant. Adam was smiling as they left. He had managed round one as well as he could have expected. Now he had to prepare for round two which he expected to be a more difficult step in the negotiations. Adam had a difficult time sleeping that night. In the morning, he rose early as he usually did and went for a walk. The exercise was good for him, and he ate a good sized breakfast before going to meet with his attorney who was a friend and former classmate. They had expected Jacques to request more money, but he had been bolder than they envisioned. They worked out a counteroffer for Adam to make as well as the supporting arguments he would need.

The second lunch was as agreeable as the first although Adam found he had a sour stomach as much as he did the first day as he watched Jacques shovel in the rich food. Adam knew what a despicable man he was but couldn't let his feelings show at all. He needed to appear to be the neutral party negotiating on behalf of another at his wife's behest. He was doing well because even as he sat there smiling at the small talk that seemed to be all Jacques was capable of producing, he was envisioning a small neat bullet hole right between the eyes of a man whose death would please many and bring relief to many others. Again at the conclusion of the meal which had ended with another rich dessert, Jacques was again ready to negotiate. Adam offered thirty-five thousand in total with payment of all fees to be included. Jacques held firm on forty thousand. Adam told him it might be a deal breaker, but he would see if he could get his clients to part with more money.

"It may well be several days before I get word on whether I can offer you more. Would it be acceptable to you if I sent a message when I get a reply to my query?"

"Certainly, that would be most acceptable. I would assume though that you would only contact me if they are willing to meet my price. It would be insulting to me to offer again an amount that I have already rejected."

"I understand that fully, sir, and will only send a message if I am authorized to meet your requirements. I will be in the city at least until Monday and will hopefully be able to send a message to you during that interval."

"Will you not stay to carry out the rest of the instructions once the payment is approved?"

"I have reserved a room through Monday. If I get authorization to proceed, then I will extend my stay to work through the details of both processes. I am not completely confident that I will be able to meet your terms so I will wait before extending my reservation."

Having quickly established just how greedy Jacques was, Adam was playing him by not letting him know just how much authority he had to pay even more money than Jacques had requested. It was a tightrope with a man like Jacques because Adam had to offer him enough money so that he would not be offended or angry at the offer, but a small enough amount so that he would not become too demanding and put the price out of reach. So far, it had worked well. He planned to visit with friends over the next few days as well as have his lawyer friend contact the Church to get the machinery working to produce an annulment as quickly as possible. There was no negotiating there. The money had to be paid or the process would not commence. Jacques was well connected socially in the city and had status because of his wealth, but Adam found through some discreet inquiries that he did not have significant business and financial contacts in the city except for those who dealt in illegal or quasi legal activities. He planned to be careful nevertheless and did hire a detective to watch over his meetings with Monsieur Fourier and to check Fourier's activities each day.

On Monday, Adam met with Jacques Fourier once again at lunch. He did the dance and agreed to Fourier's terms. The deal was that with the delivery of the annulment papers, Fourier would receive twenty thousand dollars. With the delivery of the divorce agreement after it had been filed, he would receive an additional twenty thousand dollars. All fees for producing those documents were to be paid by Adam. The two men shook hands and parted amiably. Adam relaxed for the first time since he had designed this plan in his mind. He met with his lawyer and the paperwork was started. On Tuesday, Adam was surprised to return to the hotel after running errands to find Annie and Ben waiting for him.

Rushing into Adam's arms, Annie gave him an enthusiastic kiss that drew some attention in the hotel lobby. Adam knew they had stepped outside the bounds of propriety but was so happy to hold Annie in his arms. He did suggest they go to his room to discuss what had happened so far. He found out that Will and Laura had indeed left on Saturday and should probably have arrived in California by then although they probably had a day or two yet to reach their new home just outside Sacramento. Michelle had come to the Ponderosa as invited on Saturday, and she and Annie had cut patterns, and stitched clothing until the others had returned for lunch. Michele was gradually charming her way into the hearts of Hoss and Joe so the afternoon had passed amiably. Then Adam gave them his news.

"Now, it's a waiting game. It took less time than I thought to get Jacques to agree to the terms, but now we have to hope he does not reconsider and demand more money although I expect that he will."

"Have you made the arrangements to get more money if that happens?"

"Yes, our broker is selling the silver mine shares we own. We got a good price, and that money will be in the bank by the time I may need it. The annulment papers will be ready in a week. It cost more to expedite the process, but it's well worth it in this case don't you think?"

"How much more?"

"Double, but it cut the process from a month to a week."

"Yes, that is definitely a bargain when you look at it that way."

Relaxing next to her husband on the couch in his room, Annie listened and was amazed again at how Adam and his father could talk about spending thousands of dollars on this as if there was an endless supply of money. She had still not gotten used to living within such a wealthy family. She and Jeremy used to feel so rich when they got several hundred dollars for bringing some cows to market. Describing wealth in thousands and millions was simply beyond the scope of her experience. She was tired from the trip though and closed her eyes as she leaned on Adam's shoulder. Ben noticed, and smiling, whispered that he ought to go to his room to freshen up and let Annie get some rest. Adam agreed although until he realized how tired she was, rest had not been his first priority.

The next few days, Adam took his father and Annie to lunch, dinner, and the theatre enjoying his time in San Francisco even more than he usually did because he had the most important people in his life with him. Nights were shorter and the excursions less strenuous though because Annie tired more easily. She barely showed that she was pregnant, but Adam could tell and loved to run his hand over the swelling in her abdomen as they lay in bed each evening and again in the morning.

"Cowboy, that baby isn't growing that fast that you need to keep checking." Annie was grinning as she said it though for she did the same thing and far more often. She still found it so amazing that a life was growing inside of her when she had previously thought that would never happen. Adam smiled too. He had seen her pleasure when he stroked her baby bump and knew that she was happy that he was so overjoyed with the idea of becoming a father. He worried too, but as long as Annie looked this healthy, he was able to keep his fear in check. He prayed each day that nothing bad would happen to Annie or the baby, and his father was praying for the same thing every day as well.

On Friday, Ben left for home planning to stop in and visit Will on his return trip. Annie and Adam spent the day in their room finding joy in one another. The next morning, rejuvenated and relaxed, they headed out for a picnic. On Sunday, there was a church service to attend and then dinner with friends later as Adam and Annie shared their news then with Adam's closest friends in the city. There were congratulations all around and a number of quips about how long it had taken Adam to get to this point.

"Gentlemen and ladies, it is like fine wine. It only gets better with age."

Laughter greeted that statement by Adam and then with more congratulations and a few more well placed jibes, Adam and Annie returned to their hotel. Annie could tell how tense Adam had gotten as the day progressed.

"Are you worried about tomorrow and whether Jacques will show up to sign those papers?"

"Very much so. Annie, you haven't met him and I sincerely hope you never do. Sitting across from his is like sitting with a rattler about two feet from your face. You can smell him and all you sense is danger. You have to be exceedingly careful of your every move knowing that a wrong move could mean disaster. He is not particularly intelligent but you see that look in his eye to know that he has a predator's instincts."

"The way you describe him, he sounds like the devil himself."

"Annie, the world would be a better place if he wasn't in it."

Suddenly worried, Annie looked up sharply at Adam who was undressing for bed. "You're not planning to help him on his journey from this world, I hope?"

"No, but I got the feeling he was waiting for a chance to jump all over me for some perceived wrong. Michele said he was a duelist, but I fear he is much more. He's a natural born killer. I think he likes killing people."

"You will be careful? You're scaring me a little too."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much. I guess my nerves a little frazzled too. We'll sleep, and in the morning, I'll make arrangements for the documents to be signed. Then later this week, we'll have the divorce papers ready as well as soon as a judge approves the documents. It's all going as well as I hoped. We may be done with this in two weeks. Then we can go home and let Pa figure out how he's going to take care of the rest of his mess."

"Why didn't you let Papa handle this part of it? I know you told me your reasons, but I was so worried about you being gone, I don't remember. That night is a little hazy for me."

Smiling Adam sat on the bed and reminded her of the reasons. "Pa is so emotional with his love for Michele and his fears over what is going to happen next, he wouldn't have been able to be as dispassionate as you need to be for negotiations. Knowing what Jacques did to Michele, he would have also been very angry which also is a detriment to forging successful agreements. The last reason would be that Pa has impregnated the man's wife. If that was ever divulged, you know what Jacques would do. My father dueled in his day, but he would be no match for Jacques."

"Damn it. I just realized why you took this on your shoulders. You think that if there's a duel, you'll be successful where you father would not. You think that you're going to end up dueling Jacques?"

Forced into admitting that Annie was correct, Adam was dismayed when Annie turned away from him. She lay on her side with her body shuddering with sobs. Adam reached for her but she shied from his touch. He moved closer pressing himself to her and wrapped an arm around her pulling her tightly to him. "Sweetheart, I won't seek out a duel. I just know that Jacques is seeking an excuse to challenge me to one. I'm sorry that I upset you, but who better to take this challenge than me?"

Rolling to face Adam then, Annie's tear streaked face was also furious. "You're a husband and soon you'll be a father. That's a good pair of reasons why you shouldn't even consider this. Adam, I don't know what I would do if I lost you. How could you even think about putting yourself into such a situation?"

"Sweetheart, I'll do my best to avoid it, but I can't promise it won't happen."

With no real resolution to the argument, Annie and Adam had trouble sleeping and both looked like it the next morning. Adam dressed to run his errands as Annie sat morosely picking at her breakfast. By the time Adam returned to report that all was successful and the divorce decree was being processed, Annie smiled a little, and the two of them spent the night quietly. The next day, Annie resolved to try to put the threat of a duel in the background and concentrate on having some enjoyable experiences with her husband. They visited bookstores, pastry shops, and candy shops as they had done on their honeymoon. On Friday, word came that the divorce decree was ready to be signed. Adam left to deliver the payment that would ensure the papers were signed and filed. All went well until the payment was made. Then Jacques asked for more.

Chapter 12

"Your father was in town. I would have liked to meet him."

"I'm sorry that I did not know that. He was only here for a few days though." Adam got an uneasy feeling about this conversation with Jacques.

"Yes, I would have liked to meet the man who took my wife to bed. Ah, I see from your look that you did not think I would find this out. I also have learned that you and your family are quite wealthy and could have paid me much more than what you did. I demand that you pay me five hundred thousand dollars in compensation for your family disgracing me or meet me on the dueling grounds tomorrow morning."

"There must be another way. Perhaps a reasonable amount of money could be paid to you for the perceived wrong you believe you have suffered, but half a million dollars is well beyond what my family can afford to pay."

"No, no! No negotiations. There are no negotiations where honor is concerned. You have my terms. I expect an answer."

"When and where?"

Smiling like a hyena poised over its prey, Jacques bowed slightly and issued a time and place. Adam was given the choice of pistols or rapiers. He chose pistols. Jacques smiled his predator's smile although he would have preferred the rapier. He enjoyed the resistance of skin and muscle and then the feeling of it yielding under pressure. He liked being close to a man when he realized he was mortally wounded. Men usually thought they would be able to give him a good fight with the rapier never realizing his training made him a master. Pistols got it over with quickly and the tension in his opponent always made him feel superior and masterful. He always felt a rush just before that let him fire at his opponent with impunity. He looked at the soon to be dead man in front of him and smiled even more broadly. Adam nodded and left. Adam's worst fear over these negotiations had come to fruition, and now he had to tell Annie although he briefly toyed with the idea of not telling her until it was over. He knew that would doom his marriage though so he headed to the hotel for what he knew would be an emotional afternoon and evening.

The next morning, standing in a slight fog, Jacques was confident. He had dispatched enough jealous husbands to have little fear of a cowboy from the wilderness. He had a second but only because it was proper form. He had invited his latest conquest to be with him to see him duel. He was tiring of her already, but he planned to keep her around for his dalliance until he chose his next paramour. He had quite a bit of money now after accepting those payments from Cartwright and had rid himself of the encumbrance of Michele too. He was feeling quite good, although he did expect the cowboy to look more nervous than he did. With his stance and demeanor, Adam looked altogether too confident he thought. His second noticed too and suggested that because they had both shown up to accept the duel, any matter of honor was already upheld if he wished. His pride wouldn't let him do that although his mind was suggesting it was a good idea. The referee stepped forward with the pistol case, and both men walked forward to select one. Adam checked his over carefully although he had done it once already. His second who was his lawyer as well stood by and said nothing. He knew the reputations of both men and had a fair estimate of their abilities. He fully expected Adam to be riding home that day.

Just as the referee began the count to start the duel, several men walked out of the nearby trees. Adam was not surprised and kept his concentration on the count and on Jacques. Jacques was suddenly very afraid. He did not know who these men were, but from the looks on their faces, they knew him well. Adam had contacted friends and family of men who had been killed by Jacques. They were there to see Jacques meet his maker, and they would of course cause some nervousness on the part of Jacques as Adam had planned. The number three was spoken in deathly quiet by the referee, and two guns fired. Jacques and Adam fell to the ground, but only one of them rose again. Adam rose from one knee and was clutching his left arm as blood leaked between his fingers. Jacques had been better than expected but not nearly good enough. He was dead with a bullet hole neatly placed between his eyes. Adam dropped the pistol on the body and turned to his second who wrapped a handkerchief around his arm.

"We need to leave here quickly. The police will arrive soon. They will be able to tell what happened but not who did it if we're all gone." Within a minute, the area was empty of all living persons, and the police arrived to investigate the gunshots but found only one man apparently killed in a duel. In such a situation, it was not worth their time and effort to investigate. Dueling was against the law, but no jury would convict anyway as people in the west considered it a matter of self-defense.

There would be no tears shed for Jacques Fourier. He had no children and no spouse, but his will was still on record with his lawyer. It named Michele Fourier as his beneficiary as he had not had time to change it. In the hotel room as Adam and Annie were packing to leave, that news was delivered by his lawyer. Adam instructed the lawyer to begin liquidation of the Fourier estate and to place all proceeds in an account for Michele Fourier. Adam hoped that this information would at least crack the icy barrier that was between him and his wife since the duel that morning and their discussions the previous day. It didn't. He would have to wait to let her process what had happened, and then probably there would be a fiery exchange between them to clear the air. Annie had issued no ultimatums to prohibit him from dueling, but she might just as well have done that for the impact it had on their relationship.

Boarding a steamer for Sacramento the next day, Adam and Annie were still at odds. She could not accept what he had done, and he could not imagine a scenario in which he could have done things differently and still had his self-respect. They spent a night in Sacramento, had dinner, slept, and packed up the next morning without the usual banter and certainly no intimacy. As they rode the stage for the next part of the journey, a woman on board the stage asked a number of questions. She was surprised they had been married less than a year. At the first rest station, the woman held Adam's arm as he was going to go into the station for lunch.

"Young man, I was married for over forty years before my husband died. One thing he never forgot in all that time was why I said yes to him when he proposed. I think you have already forgotten. Perhaps you should try to remember." She went into the small ramshackle station then to have some lunch and get away from the unrelenting heat. Adam was angry at first that a stranger would deign to interfere and offer him advice, but the more that he thought, the more he wondered if she was correct. Finally with a small crooked smile, he went to have lunch as well. The day was extremely hot so the driver told them they would wait two hours before continuing. They were spending the night at the next way station and would arrive closer to eight than the scheduled six but the horses would handle the conditions better if they waited to let the sun move a bit lower in the sky. Adam asked Annie to walk with him to a grove of trees nearby.

"Why? It's hot and I don't think I will enjoy the exercise."

"It will be cooler there, and the station manager says there's a small pond there. We could take off our shoes or boots and put our feet in the water."

That did sound appealing so Annie agreed to go with Adam. He took her arm in a soft hold and guided her there. Once there, he told her to sit so he could remove her shoes. As that was done, he massaged her feet before letting her swing around and put her feet in the water. Then he pulled off his boots, sat beside her on her right side, and immersed his feet as well.

"I'm still mad at you, you know."

"Yes."

"I still don't understand how you could put yourself at risk like that."

"I know."

"Aren't you even going to defend yourself at all?"

"Would it matter? There's nothing I can say that will make you accept what I did, but I still feel I did what I had to do. We disagree. It happens."

"You can be infuriating some times. I want to just smack you when you're like that."

"Sometimes I still would like to give you a spanking."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"We've had this discussion before. I would dare if I thought it was necessary."

"Even if I was really mad at you afterwards?"

"Yes."

"You're doing that on purpose to make me talk to you, aren't you? I hate that when you manipulate me like that."

"I know."

And then Annie did smack him on the arm. Unfortunately it was the arm that Jacques' bullet had creased, and Adam jerked with the pain. Annie was immediately contrite and wrapped her arms around Adam to pull him close and kiss him which he was more than enthusiastic in encouraging. Suddenly she frowned and leaned back and looked at him. "Did you do that on purpose too?"

"Do what?"

"Sit there on my right side and then antagonize me until I smacked you one?"

"Now, Annie, do you really believe I would let you hurt me on purpose?" Adam had that hint of a smile that drove her crazy wondering what he was thinking.

With a deep sigh, Annie started laughing. She lay back on the soft grass and stared at the blue sky they could see through the treetops. "You are a real piece of work, mister. Will you at least promise that we will talk over any future plans in depth before you do them so that I can state my opinion while it still matters?"

"I can do that."

"No, I want you to promise you will do that. No more sentences with wiggle room so you can always say you did what I said even though you didn't do what I meant."

Resting on his sore arm, Adam leaned down close to Annie. "I promise that I will talk over any future plans with you in depth before I do anything about them so that you at least get to state your opinion while it still matters." Then he leaned down further and sealed the agreement with a kiss. Soon more was happening, and later they had to hurry to get their footgear on and get to the stage when they heard the driver calling for them. Once they got there, Adam kissed the widow on the cheek.

"Not that I'm complaining, sweetie, but what was that for?"

"Ma'am, I think you know, and thank you."

"Adam, why are you kissing another woman?"

"She gave me some great advice earlier. She's a very wise woman. Besides I only kissed her on the cheek. Sorry, ma'am, my wife gets a little jealous sometimes. I don't mind."

For the next stage of the trip, Annie and Adam conversed at length with the widow after they introduced themselves so they could call each other by name. The widow was Margaret Marshall but she said everyone called her Peg. She was heading to Virginia City to find work as a cook or seamstress. Adam and Annie said they might be able to help her with that. At the next station, they had dinner and then it was time to get some sleep. The station manager offered the spare bedroom to Adam and Annie.

"No, I can sleep out here in a chair. Let the two ladies have the bed."

"Adam, are you sure? I would hate to separate a man from his wife."

"No, that's quite all right, Peg. Annie, that's all right with you isn't it?"

When Annie nodded yes, Peg gave Adam an appraising look. That afternoon it was clear the chill was gone between Adam and Annie even to the point that Annie had leaned into Adam who wrapped an arm around her so she could get a nap on the stage. Then Peg remembered how the two had been gone and had to be called back to the stage so they could leave. Peg smiled.

"You do work fast young man, don't you?"

Then Peg walked into the bedroom with her valise. Annie blushed a little and followed her in closing the door. Soon there was giggling coming from the bedroom which made Adam wince. Once again he was reminded that in marriage, privacy was not nearly as protected as he would like. The station manager went to his bedroom so it was Adam and the driver in the main room of the station. They had a cup of coffee, turned down the lamps, and did their best to sleep in the chairs that were there.

Chapter 13

In the morning, Adam slowly awakened to a woman's hands massaging his neck as he leaned on the table where he had slept the night before. "I'm going to give you about twenty minutes to cut that out."

"Your wife might object to that."

With a start, Adam turned quickly around to find that Peg had been the one rubbing his cramped neck and shoulders. Annie was carrying her valise from the bedroom and grinning at him.

"Gotcha!"

"You really are asking for it, you know."

Simply shaking her head, Annie handed her valise to Adam. He sighed and carried it outside to be loaded on the stage. Grabbing his kit, he went to the water trough, pulled off his shirt, and pumped cold water over his head and face feeling the whisker stubble that required him to shave twice a day to be presentable. He soaped up and took care of that before donning his shirt and heading back inside. After breakfast, they headed out. In two more days, they should arrive in Virginia City. In Placerville, Adam and Annie took a room for the night. It was a relief to Adam to have a bed to stretch out in. He relaxed and waited for Annie to join him there after she combed out her hair and took care of cleaning up after the dusty ride. Adam had been going to order a bath for them but it had gotten quite late with some problems with the coach that day so all they really wanted to do was to get some sleep. In a day and a half, they would be home.

Riding into Virginia City after that day and a half of traveling, Adam and Annie were anxious to get the papers delivered to Michele and go home. Annie was very tired after all the stress and then the travel. Peg asked her if she was ill, and she replied it was just that the baby was sapping all of her energy. Realizing that she had slipped and announced she was with child to a near stranger, Annie blushed but Adam asked if Peg wanted them to introduce her to Michele who would likely need some assistance in her shop and he said he knew of a boarding house as well. Peg was grateful and the three of them headed to Michele's shop. Under the pretense of introducing Peg to Michele, they could hand over the legal documents without any gossips getting any more ammunition. There was a woman in the shop when they arrived so Adam and Annie kept everything very business-like until the end of their conversation when Annie had a question.

"Michele, could you please come out to the ranch on Saturday and help me again with cutting patterns and getting some of my sewing projects started? I would certainly pay you for your time and possibly entice you with the promise of one of Hop Sing's lunches?"

Michele graciously accepted and took the papers from Adam when her customer was otherwise occupied. She agreed to take on Peg as a helper for a time at least for she told them she had fallen behind on her work with so many orders coming in. It seemed that the women of Virginia City were finding more and more reasons to visit her shop and it was exhausting to try to get everything done. With their task accomplished, Adam and Annie escorted Peg to Clementine Hawkins' boardinghouse and gave their recommendation so that she would be able to rent a room there. Peg thanked them for all their help, and Annie suggested that she could visit the Ponderosa sometime when she could get away. Peg was delighted to say yes to that. By then, Adam spotted Hoss with the carriage at the stage depot so he escorted Annie there. Hoss greeted them with enthusiasm.

"Heard you had quite a successful trip. Got all that business taken care of on that end?"

"Yes, we did. Now it's up to Pa to handle things from this end." Adam nodded at Hoss. They would talk more once they were away from the big ears in town. As they rode to the Ponderosa, Adam filled Hoss in on everything he had done including the duel.

"Is that why you were all fired up to be the one to go? You suspected there might be a duel? Pa's gonna be upset with you when he finds out."

"I already got blasted by Annie. Pa can't be any worse than that."

Annie was going to punch him in the arm for that, but she realized she was on his left side and would have to hit his sore arm so she reached around and pinched his behind instead. He yelped and jumped forward a bit causing Hoss to laugh so hard he almost ran the carriage off the road.

"You do that, Annie. He needs someone to keep him in line." And Hoss laughed more as Adam scowled at him.

Adam stared at Annie. "You are getting closer and closer to making me do it."

"Do what?" Hoss had no idea why Adam had said that.

"Oh, Hoss, he keeps threatening to spank me. He wouldn't dare."

"Annie, now I wouldn't be too sure about that. Did he tell you about the time he spanked Margarita in front of her father, her sister, and the rest of us?" So Hoss proceeded to tell the tale of the shrew Adam tamed especially about spanking her after she broke Adam's guitar over Hoss' head.

Not knowing whether to laugh or be shocked, Annie was a bit of both. "You wouldn't dare do that to me, would you?"

"Keep pushing, and you will find out."

It was quiet for a bit then before Hoss started talking about Ben and how happy he had been when they had gotten the wire that all had been resolved. The three of them discussed when Ben was likely to propose to Michele. It needed to be soon considering that she was already carrying his child. In a couple of months, she would be showing and then there would be no way to stop the gossip except it wasn't unusual for couples to marry with a child already on the way so the talk would die down as long as they were married a reasonable length of time. Adam correctly guessed that there were women in town watching the calendar to see when his child was born in order to gossip about it if it was less than nine months after their wedding. It wouldn't be so the gossips would be disappointed with that one.

"How much money do you think Michele is going to get when they sell off the property of that husband of hers?"

"We have no way of knowing. I would think at least forty thousand because of the money we gave him, but who knows what kind of debts he may have incurred. We'll have to wait and see. I asked for expedited sales so it shouldn't take long to know."

"How come you could do all that without Michele's say so?"

"She gave me documents before I left allowing me to act on her behalf."

"Ah, that was smart. Then she didn't have to go and take a chance on being with that jasper. You two work well together on business stuff. Is Michele going to keep her shop in town if she and Pa get married?"

"Well, let's hope that's a when and not an if, but yes, I think she will. We found her an employee too on the stage ride. She has a lady about Pa's age who's going to be working with her at least until she gets caught up on all the orders that have come flooding in lately."

"Why is she getting so much work now?"

"It seems that the busybodies in town are in her shop as often as they can, and they need an excuse to stop and chat with her so they order up a dress. Just the fittings are keeping Michele very busy. They're casting about trying to get some information so they can spread more stories. Michele is holding up well under the pressure, but even she can't take that forever. I invited her to come out and help me again on Saturday. That will get her out of that shop, and give her a chance to relax."

Once Hoss had gotten Adam and Annie back to the Ponderosa, it didn't take long to find out Ben's reaction to Adam being in a duel with Jacques.

"What in tarnation did you think you were doing taking a chance like that? You have a wife and a baby on the way. Did you think about them at all? Of all the irresponsible, lame-brained schemes, this has to be number one. Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Barely holding on to his temper, Adam paused a little before answering. It would help him calm himself, but he knew from previous experience that his father would now start feeling just a little guilty for blasting him like that especially in front of members of the family. He waited until he could state his position clearly and without rancor. "If you're negotiating with a known duelist, it's always a possibility. I had confidence in my ability to survive. I didn't have that confidence that he would not kill you. I couldn't live with myself if I had let you go into that situation and done nothing to stop it."

"I am perfectly capable of handling negotiations and would never have let it get to the point that I was challenged to a duel!"

"Not if he found out you were sleeping with his wife and demanded a half million dollars in compensation!" Adam had been pushed far enough that he knew he had embarrassed his father but his father had snidely denigrated Adam's abilities, and he lost his cool. He did find that his father and Joe had that ability far more than any other living soul. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that in front of everyone."

Fuming a bit at first before realizing who had caused this disagreement to get this far, Ben apologized as well. "I'm sorry too. I should not have criticized you for doing the best you could do under circumstances I created. I'll let your wife handle any criticism of you dueling. She was the one with the most to lose."

"Ahh, Annie's already taken care of that. We've, ah, reached an understanding."

Recognizing that the worst was over, Annie changed the subject. "I asked Michelle to come out again on Saturday to help me. Now that she has Peg to help, that should work out even better for her."

"Who's Peg?"

So Adam and Annie explained how they met Peg and why she was in Virginia City. It was serendipity for all concerned. Then they explained that Michele was the beneficiary of Jacques' will.

"I can't see that she would want anything from him after what he did to her. I can certainly supply her with anything she needs." The unspoken commitment was there in Ben's words and everyone in the family heard it.

"Pa, I told her he owed it to her. It was the least he should have done after everything he put her through. Besides, forty thousand of it were the two payments I gave to him. She's just getting the money back."

"I suppose that's true. I just don't like her owning anything that he owned."

"That's why everything is going to be sold. It will only be money. She can then use it to purchase anything she wants or give the money away. It will be her decision. She will finally have taken the power away from him. I think that's important for her to be able to do."

Recognizing the truth in Adam's statement and how well his oldest son understood the woman Ben loved, Ben had to thank him. Then he thanked Annie for inviting Michele to come out to the Ponderosa again. He was grateful for how his family had accepted the woman with whom he had fallen in love, and he told them that. Hoss had that aw shucks look of his, and the others made light of what they had done, but Ben could see they were all pleased that he had acknowledged how much they were doing to try to help him.

Because Annie was tired by all the travel and the emotional upheaval of recent events, Adam insisted she head up to their room to get some rest. When she did, she found the room emptied of all their belongings and furnished with guest room furniture. She looked back at Adam who was flanked by his two brothers and father and rushed to the end of the hall finding the door to their new room open. Their bed, dresser, desk, and other belongings had been moved into the guest room with the adjoining room. When she peeked in there, she saw a cradle and a trundle bed all made up for a baby's arrival. All the room needed were the new curtains that she and Michele had been working on.

"Hoss and Joe did this for us while we were gone. Jeremy helped with the heavy lifting. All you need to do are the curtains for each room and then any other special touches you want."

Throwing her arms around Hoss first and then Joe, Annie was smiling and crying. Neither brother really knew how to react to that. "Oh, I'm so sorry, but being with child seems to have made me an emotional mess. I'm really happy, and oh so grateful to you for this. Thank you, thank you." Then Annie hugged Adam. "Did you know they were going to do this?"

"Know it, Sis! Heck, he planned it. He sent a wire and said as soon as you were packed up and headed out on that stage, we could move everything from your old bedroom to this one. Pa made us get the baby stuff out of the attic too and clean it all up." Joe was very proud of how well he and Hoss had done in pleasing Annie.

As soon as Hoss and Joe headed downstairs, Annie did a more thorough examination of both rooms finding them meticulously well organized and clean. "Joe really ought to find himself a wife. She would be one lucky lady."

"One of those women is going to have to grab hold of him. He's pretty fast. He's usually seeing a woman, just dumped a woman, been dumped by a woman, or looking for the next woman. There's hardly time for a relationship to develop."

"Well, I'm going to have to pay closer attention and help out any likely candidates."

"Oh, no. You just stick to planning for us. Don't get involved in Joe's. That's a recipe for disaster. If you want to help, look around for a nice lady for Hoss. He's the one who ought to be married and having a bunch of children."

"Really?"

"No, no, I was just kidding. Please let my brothers work out their own romances, please?"

"All right. I'm busy enough helping your father with his anyway."

Rolling his eyes, Adam leaned down to kiss Annie. "Now get some sleep. The two of you have had a difficult couple of weeks, and you need your rest. We can unpack later."

For a few days, Annie enjoyed a life of leisure. On Saturday morning, she got out all of her sewing materials ready for a day of learning how to make gowns and curtains from Michele. She was very much looking forward to the day, and was shocked when Hoss rushed inside to tell Adam that Michele's carriage had arrived with a damaged wheel, but Michele wasn't in it. Hoss and Adam quickly rode out to find out what had happened as Ben and Joe got the buckboard hitched up and put blankets in the back and then hurried to catch up. Annie had wanted to go too, but Ben told her she would hinder not help them. She reluctantly sat on the porch and waited for news after telling Hop Sing that there might be an injured person being brought to the ranch. Annie hoped that a minor injury was all that had happened, but she feared it was a lot more. Her fears were realized an hour later when Hoss drove the wagon into the yard. Ben was sitting in the back cradling Michele's head on his lap and holding a cloth against her head. Adam was soon there and jumped into the wagon to help his father pick Michele up and hand her over the side to Hoss who carried the unconscious woman inside.

Adam gave Annie a quick rundown then. "She must have fallen out when the carriage hit a rock and tilted. She's got a head injury and possibly other injuries. Joe took Chubb and rode for the doctor."

Chapter 14

"Ben, could I speak with you privately?" Doctor Martin had just come out of the downstairs guest room where Michele was. He had been tending to her for well over two hours, and the five Cartwrights had become very tense with the waiting. Just a short time before, Hop Sing had exited with soiled sheets and a basin of brown water. He would say nothing, but after about fifteen minutes, he had taken clean sheets and a basin of clean water in with him.

"You can tell everyone how she is. There are no secrets here."

"None?" Paul was surprised, but then the Cartwrights often surprised him. "She will be fine in a few weeks. She has a nasty bump on the head and a mild concussion, but her memory is unimpaired and she is lucid. She has some nasty bruising to her abdomen but no internal bleeding as far as I can tell, and no broken ribs. However, she lost the baby. It wasn't that far along and it was a risk for her being with child for the first time at her age. She couldn't withstand the trauma of the blow to her abdomen when she fell. I'm sorry. There was nothing that could be done about that." Paul noted that no one had seemed surprised that Michele had been with child, and all were dismayed that she had lost the baby.

"Can I see her?"

"Ben, let her have a little time to settle comfortably in the bed. Hop Sing is changing the bedding, and we gave her a clean gown to put on. Once he comes out, she'll change but it may take her some time. She was banged up pretty good. Perhaps, Annie could go in to help her?"

Not needing any encouragement, Annie moved quickly to the bedroom and Hop Sing was leaving as she got there. Then there was another long wait before Annie came out to say that Michele would prefer to rest quietly and alone for a time. Ben sighed deeply worried about her and with apparently nothing he could do to help. Periodically Annie checked in the room just to be sure that Michele didn't need anything until Michele asked her if she would just stay and sit quietly with her. Ben was frustrated as any man would be in such a circumstance. Doctor Martin left after giving Hop Sing some laudanum in case Michele needed it for the pain especially if it prevented her from sleeping.

None of the Cartwright men slept well that night. Ben sat up late as did Adam. Annie had come out of the Michele's bedroom a few times. Once she left to get some dinner for them, and another time to use the necessary. She shook her head and told Ben that Michele wasn't ready to see him yet. The last time she came out was to get a quilt and to kiss Adam good night because Michele had asked if she could stay with her. So after Hoss and Joe retired for the night, Adam and Ben sat up talking for a time and then just staring into the flames. Adam worried about the effects of this stress on Annie who was now six months along herself. Finally he left to get some sleep after encouraging Ben to do the same. After midnight, Ben went to his bed but didn't sleep. He worried about Michele and what this miscarriage would do to their relationship. He didn't want anything to change but feared it would affect how she saw him. He didn't know what the effect would be but feared the worst. Hoss and Joe both heard their brother and then their father come up to bed quite late. They knew how each was suffering and were sorry that there was nothing they could do.

With the dawn, Hoss awakened and so amazingly did Joe. When they dressed and went downstairs, they found their father and older brother already sitting downstairs drinking coffee in front of the fireplace.

"We didn't miss breakfast, now did we?" Trying to keep it light, Hoss said the one thing that usually could get a rise out of Adam even in the early morning. It didn't work this time. Ben simply answered that Hop Sing was preparing breakfast and it would be ready soon. Annie came out of the downstairs bedroom about that time. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked exhausted.

"You're going up to bed right now." Adam was extremely concerned about his wife at that point and wasn't about to consider discussing the merits of his suggestion.

"I can't. Michele needs me."

"Our baby needs you, and your first priority is our child right now."

About to argue about it, Annie was halted by Ben's agreement with Adam and then Hoss and Joe also seconded his suggestion. Adam stood there looking concerned, worried, and angry as well as tired himself. Annie nodded, and Adam took her by the arm and walked her up the stairs.

"Adam, you look like you could use some sleep as well. You should stay with Annie. We'll take care of Michele."

Considering what his father was suggesting, Adam wasn't going to argue with him either. He simply nodded and continued to help Annie up the stairs. In their bedroom, Adam helped Annie undress. Normally that would have led to some lovemaking, but in this situation, he helped her clean up and then dress in a clean gown. He pulled the covers back on the bed so she could slide into the bed. She snuggled into the pillow and closed her eyes. By the time Adam lay down beside her and wrapped an arm protectively around her, she was already breathing quietly and evenly in a light sleep. Relieved of his worries for the moment, Adam pushed his face into Annie's hair and inhaled the scent. Then he kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes falling into a restful sleep as well.

Downstairs, things did not go nearly as well for Ben at first. When he entered the bedroom to see if Michele wanted some breakfast, she asked for Annie.

"Annie needed to get some sleep. Adam took her upstairs. She's six months along now and needs her rest. I can help you."

"I'm so sorry. I know how disappointed you must be with me."

Sitting on the side of the bed then because standing at the door simply wasn't enough, Ben touched Michele on the shoulder and took her hand. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm not disappointed at all. I'm very concerned about you. I love you, and I was terribly worried. This must have been so hard for you."

Hoss got up from the dining table and walked to the guest room pulling the door closed. This was a conversation that Ben and Michele needed to have privately. Joe was a little disappointed they would not hear how the couple resolved their concerns. Hoss looked at Joe a little peevishly.

"We'll find out when they want to tell us." Then he put some food on his plate and started eating because he felt better about things already. Just those first statements from his father and from Michele indicated they would work things out. And Adam had Annie upstairs resting so everyone was getting what they needed, and at the moment, Hoss needed breakfast. Joe needed a new girlfriend and had missed a Saturday night in town. Hoss was guessing that Joe was going to be ornery all week or at least until Friday when he could get to town.

In the bedroom, Michele was quiet for quite a while. Ben held her hand and stroked his other hand slowly up and down her arm hoping it was soothing her. She didn't flinch from his touch so her arm wasn't hurting, and more importantly she wasn't rejecting Ben's attention. When she tried to turn to look at him more directly though, she grimaced in pain.

"Do you need some laudanum for the pain?"

"No, I wanted to be able to look at you directly. I'll be fine. I took some last night when I needed to sleep." Michele wanted to see Ben's face when she said the next thing she wanted to say. Ben wasn't like Adam who could hold that mask in place no matter what was being said. Even when Ben was trying to be impassive, he always reacted to what was said although he could get that neutral face back quickly if he tried. "Ben, you don't have to stay with me now."

"I have nothing else more important to do today. I'll be here as much as you need me."

"No, I mean you don't have to be committed to me. Without the baby, you're free of me if you want to be."

"What? You just stop talking like that right now. I want to be with you because I love you. The baby forced the issue, but I was thinking all along that I wanted to find a way to be with you forever. It is very sad that we have lost our baby, but we have each other, and the boys and Annie are here too. We can still be a very loving family."

"Ben, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I don't ever want you to leave here. I want you to be my wife and live here on the Ponderosa with me. I know this is an odd time to do this, but Michele, will you marry me?"

Looking to Ben to see if there was pity or guilt or some other emotion driving him to ask her that, Michele saw only love and concern. "Yes, Ben, if you'll have me, I'll marry you."

Although Ben wanted to wrap his arms around Michele and hug and kiss her passionately, he leaned forward slowly so as not to cause her any discomfort, and he kissed her very gently as he held her cheek. "Thank you. You have made me a very happy man. As soon as you feel up to it, we'll go to town and get you a ring, and we can meet with the minister to pick a date for the wedding. I would like it to be soon."

"Yes, you can do all the planning. I'm tired and I'd like a nap now." Michele had a small smile then even though she had suffered the tragedy of the loss of the baby. Softening the shock somewhat was that she remembered Doctor Martin's warning when she first saw him that he thought that she might lose the baby because he saw signs that she might not be able to carry to term. She wasn't a medical person so the terms he used had eluded her understanding, but his conclusion had been clear. Now the worst had happened, but she and Ben could move forward. There was nothing more she could hope or pray for at this point so she just wanted to sleep and forget about it for a time.

So Ben sat quietly by Michele's side until she fell asleep. Then he gently tucked the covers up to her chin and went to talk with his sons. He told them first to stay quiet no matter what he said, and then he told Hoss and Joe that he and Michele were getting married. He sent Joe into town to contact Peg to let her know what had happened and to be sure she could open the store for the next week without Michele's help. He sent Hoss up to see if Adam and Annie were awake so he could tell them the news.

"Adam, you awake?" Hoss heard a yes from the bedroom. "Are you two decent?"

"Of course we're decent. But if you're asking if we're dressed, the answer is yes."

Hoss shook his head a little because sometimes his older brother was a little hard to understand. He pushed the door open. "Pa says he'd like ya downstairs whenever you can cause he has something he wants to tell you." When Hoss saw both Adam and Annie look nervous at that, he quickly amended his statement. "He's got some good news to tell ya." Then before he could say too much, Hoss pulled the door shut and left which left Adam and Annie sputtering with questions so they hurriedly got out of bed, refreshed themselves, and hurried downstairs.

Having trouble fitting in her dresses, Annie was wearing a skirt that she could pull up over the bulge and had wrapped a shawl around her as Michele had told her and with Adam's help secured it at her waist. By the time Annie walked down the stairs, it was clear to everyone that she was with child. She had been disguising the bump for quite a while but no longer could for it seemed to grow daily according to her complaints to Adam. When Ben saw her, he got a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye over the loss he and Michele had suffered but consoled himself that there would at least soon be a baby in the family. When Ben told Annie and Adam his news, they were both overjoyed, and Annie hugged and kissed Ben for she was so looking forward to having female companionship in this household of men. Annie had not had a woman to talk with since her mother had died. Ben looked at it the other way that Michele would have a woman with whom to commiserate and celebrate especially when the men were out working.

Over the next few days, there was a lot of consoling of Ben and Michele when they were feeling down about the loss they had suffered, and then a lot of celebrating when they were talking about the wedding. In town, rumors were rampant that Michele was on the Ponderosa to hide the fact that she was with child. The gossips claimed the accident was a creative story and a ruse to explain her absence from town. In two weeks when a slim Michele accompanied Ben and the family to church services, and the minister announced that they were getting married the following Saturday, the gossips were stymied. The small scar on her forehead was clear evidence that she had in fact been injured, and that narrow waist could not conceal a pregnancy. They were embarrassed when people questioned the stories they had been telling, and they had no answers. More than one person was heard to say that slandering Ben Cartwright was a terrible thing to do for the man did so much for his neighbors and for the town.

By late August, Ben and Michele returned from a month long honeymoon in Denver. Jeremy married a homesteader's daughter and moved into the Anderson home. He and his wife planned to plant vegetables, raise chickens, and hogs, keep dairy cows, and sell their surplus in town. Ben accepted fresh vegetables, cheese, butter, and hams in lieu of rent for the property, and Jeremy continued to work as a ranch hand as well. When Adam took Annie for a ride to show her a property they could use to build a house, she said they could do that someday but that she enjoyed living in the big house with the whole family. Peg ran the store full time, and Michele and Annie did a lot of the sewing and stitching on the Ponderosa delivering it to the store twice a week. Then in September, Annie shook Adam to awaken him one night.

"Adam, it's time."

"Hmm, time for what? It's still dark."

"Time for the baby, you big lug. Now get out of bed. You need to help me clean up this mess. My water broke."

"I'll get Hop Sing. He'll help."

"Not yet he won't. I want to be dressed in a dry gown and have clean sheets on the bed before he gets here. Now help!"

"Shouldn't I go get the doctor?" Adam was busy pulling sheets off the bed and replacing them with clean dry ones as Annie tugged a clean gown over her head. Then he put the blanket back on the bed as well.

"No, you're staying right here. You can send Joe or someone else. You put that baby in there, and you're damn well going to be here when he comes out."

"How do you know it's a boy?"

"Because a girl would have waited until morning. Now roll all this up and then you can tell everyone who needs telling."

Within an hour, Annie's contractions were coming very close together. Michele and Adam were with her. "Adam, I think that baby is going to be here before the doctor. I've never helped at a birth. Have you?"

"Not unless you count the livestock. Hop Sing has though so he's our best bet for help."

Almost on cue, Hop Sing entered the room carrying all the things they would need. There were towels, string, clean sheets, and pitchers of warm water and cool water. The diminutive man was nearly invisible behind the stack of items he was carrying and the two pitchers in his hands. Ben walked in behind with a tray with a pot of tea and cups quickly retreating when he heard his wife say she could see the head, Annie screamed, and Adam and Michele tended to the young woman. When Ben got downstairs, all he saw were the worried looks on Hoss and Jeremy. Hoss had gone to get Annie's brother when Joe rode to get the doctor but neither of them was there yet.

Before Ben could say anything, there was the wail of a baby upstairs.

"Well, that might be a record. That baby arrived in a hurry." Although Ben remembered that Annie had been complaining of a backache and nausea at dinner. That had probably been the start of her labor, but she had not known it. Less than four hours after Annie had awakened Adam, a baby boy was wrapped in swaddling clothes and resting in Annie's arms. Adam, who had been dreading this night because of his fears of what could happen in labor, sat back in near shock. There hadn't been time to be afraid for they had been so busy. Hop Sing and Michele cleaned up and then left the couple alone with their child.

"We never did settle firmly on a name. Are we going to call him Andrew after my father or Adam after you?"

"Let's call him Andrew Adam Cartwright. I do like the nickname your father had. Drew is a good name."

"Well, hello little Drew. Would you like to see if you can have something to drink now?"

Drew struggled a bit with the unfamiliar requirements of suckling but as soon as some milk entered his mouth, he latched on like he knew what he was doing. It was noisy slurping, and he soon tired of it, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. With a smirk, Annie looked at Adam. "He's a lot like his father already."

"Hey, now don't talk like that when the family is around. It's not too late for that spanking."

"Oh, hush. Now that he's sleeping, you take him down and show the family. I think I'll relax a little too. I didn't get much sleep last night."

As Adam was carrying Drew down the stairs, Joe rushed in with Doctor Martin. "Well, it looks like I missed the birth. I'll go up and check Annie. Adam, bring the baby up as soon as everyone has had a chance to admire him, and I'll check him over too."

Jeremy had tears in his eyes when Adam told them the baby's name. Adam told Jeremy that he should go up with him when he took the baby upstairs for Paul to examine him.

So in a year, much had happened on the Ponderosa. Adam was married, had a son, and any plans to leave were forgotten. Ben was married and loneliness was no longer a concern for him. Hoss and Joe were starting to think more seriously about getting married. The Ponderosa was much larger, Will and Laura were happily raising their family in California, and the gossips in town were stymied.

105

Chapter 1 Four years earlier.

"It ain't right that he walks around free as a bird after what he's done."

"Yeah, Nate, all those men died, and he gets away from the Paiute with nary a scratch. You know he was working with em. He had to be."

"What was that final tally? I think they said over seventy dead and about half that wounded. He oughta pay for that."

"Yeah, Paul, just because he's a Cartwright and the fighting is over for now, everyone is willing to look the other way. Well I ain't cause I knew a lot of those men who died. The Paiute War may be over, but there's still some justice to be done."

"But, Clyde, what can the three of us do against him? He's fast with that gun, and, I mean, I don't want to go to jail for killing him."

"There'll come a time, there'll come a time when we can do something about that Injun lover Adam Cartwright." Clyde had no idea at the moment, but he was a patient man and assumed that at some point an idea would come to him of how they could get revenge on Adam Cartwright without going to jail.

The three men continued to drink their beers as they sat at a back table and watched Adam talking with his brothers and friends, drinking beer and acting like nothing terrible had happened. In fact, it had been terrible for Adam, and this was his first trip to town since his ordeal. He hadn't yet conquered the nightmares, but they weren't as bad as when he first arrived home three months after being captured at the First Battle of Pyramid Lake. Numaga kept him alive because of his family's close relationship to Chief Winnemucca. But the old chief had died in that awful winter and everything Numaga tried to do to keep the peace didn't work. When the militia marched on his people, he fought. They captured Adam and tried to use him to barter a settlement, but it didn't work. The Army arrived almost three months to the day of the first battle, and the Paiute were decimated as the militia had been at the first battle. The war was over, but the problems and anger lingered.

Carefully so that Adam wouldn't notice, Hoss and Joe surveyed the room watching to be sure there would be no trouble. They knew Adam had suffered at the hands of the Paiute during his captivity. They saw the scars from the lashings around his wrists and ankles. They had seen poorly healed abrasions. Adam had a fair amount of bruising when he had finally been released in a last ditch effort by the Paiute to stop their own destruction. Some of the Paiute had taken their anger and frustration out on him before they let him go. He had spent weeks recuperating and gaining back some of the weight he had lost. The Paiute did not have enough food for themselves so had fed their captive meager meals that at times were only the scraps of a meal. In addition to being malnourished, he had been beaten at times, humiliated in his predicament, and exposed to the elements all the while expecting that he would likely die. Sometimes they had taunted him with what they would do to him. They told him about slicing his forehead skin and peeling his face off. They told him they would cut off his genitals and carve up his body. He had some horrible images from that first battle and its aftermath that supported their claims.

When he had been released, Ben had cried in his joy that his son was alive. However there were those in town who openly wondered how Adam could be alive when so many others had been killed and their bodies mutilated. Adam had returned with no apparent injuries. They thought that somehow he had collaborated with the enemy never giving any specific idea of how that could be true, but only citing that by being alive, he must have.

Adam had a fairly good idea what his brothers were doing by each of them standing at an elbow and never leaving his side. Candy leaned on the bar next to him and watched using the mirror. Using peripheral vision, Adam noticed Hoss and Joe doing the same. A little further down the bar, several ranch hands leaned on the bar with one elbow and kept watch as well. Adam had heard a few taunts as he rode into town. His father had mentioned that there were stories going around town, and he should do his best to ignore them.

It all might have ended very quietly that first night in town except Sam Clemens came into the saloon. He had seen the Cartwrights and friends coming into town and had hurried to finish the story he was writing to get over to the saloon. He not only wanted to tell Adam he was glad he had survived, he also wanted to find out as much about his captivity as he could. He had tried once at the Ponderosa but had been politely turned away by Ben who said Adam needed time to recover from his ordeal. As Sam entered the saloon, he saw the wary looks of Adam's brothers and friends. He also noted how thin Adam was even though he had been presumably eating well for the past few weeks since his return home. He had dark circles under his eyes yet indicating he was likely still not recovered from the exhaustion of his ordeal.

"Adam Cartwright, the hero of the Paiute War, it's been rather difficult to get to talk with you. As you are in town, I was wondering if you had time to answer a few questions."

"He ain't no hero, and I got a few questions for him right now too. How'd you get out of there alive when all of our friends and neighbors got killed? What did you do, Injun lover, to save your own skin?"

"Now, Clyde, you just shut the hell up talking like that. Adam suffered plenty out there and he don't need no stupid remarks like that from you."

"So, he's just a coward then letting you speak for him and protect him?"

As Adam moved to push away from the bar and confront the loudmouth Clyde, Joe put a hand on his right arm. "No trouble tonight, please. Pa was very worried about us coming to town. Let's just leave and let this one ride."

"Joe, would you walk away if a man called you out as a coward?"

"I'm sorry, Adam. I never meant to stir anything up like this."

"It's all right, Sam. This time it's not your fault. They've been waiting for an opening and would have found an excuse sooner or later to speak their mind." Turning to look at Clyde, Hoss and Joe saw that familiar icy look come over Adam's face. He stared at Clyde who started to look decidedly nervous. "Clyde, you want to back that up with something or just leave?"

"You know I ain't a match for you with a gun. It would be murder if you pushed me to fight you like that."

"Your choice then. You can leave or you can fight."

Nate and Paul grabbed their hats and stood. "C'mon Clyde. It ain't worth getting killed over." Clyde stood at Paul's suggestion although his knees felt like they might buckle.

"This ain't over, Cartwright. It ain't over. Someday, you're gonna pay for what you done." With that Clyde walked from the saloon with one more reason to hate Adam Cartwright. His friends followed him out as he headed to another one of the twenty-one saloons in the city that was at the peak of its prosperity.

Turning to Sam, Adam made an offer. "I'll buy you a beer, Sam, but I'm not interested in talking right now."

"I'll take you up on that, Adam, and thank you. Not right now, but does that mean there's an opportunity in the future to talk about what happened?"

"We'll see. For now, let's just relax and not worry about things we can't change."

So they talked about women, horses, and silver mines. They played a low stakes friendly game of poker. By about nine, it was clear that Adam was tired. Hoss suggested the two of them could ride home and get a good night's sleep. Adam smiled at that. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in months. It would be nice if it would happen, but he had doubts that it would. He did take Hoss up on his offer though, as Joe and the others stayed another hour or so. Hoss had a few questions as they rode.

"You wouldn't have shot Clyde, wouldja?"

"If he wanted to force the issue, yes. I was thinking he had too much to drink, and he was angry but not stupid. His friends weren't going to back him up either."

"But how would that have made things any better in town for you?"

"I wouldn't have, but it wouldn't have made it worse either. But if I was taunted and insulted like that and did nothing, then more people might begin wondering about me and what kind of man I am."

"Adam, there's always going to be people like that. You can't fight all of them."

In his usual manner of making it seem a bit funny because he smiled that crooked little smile, he answered. "I can try." But Hoss knew he meant it. He would fight if he got pushed. He had seen Adam face a professional gunfighter, Poole, when he got his back up. Hoss just hoped that things calmed down a bit before it came to gunplay.

People would have to get on with their lives and get ready for winter. In the long run, the whites had fared far better than the Paiute who had suffered starvation in the previous winter and then suffered devastating losses at the Second Battle of Pyramid Lake. The next winter could be even tougher on them because the problems that had caused the war were still there. There were murders that had occurred on both sides, but the worst might have been the cutting down of the pinyon pine trees, fencing off the best pastures, and denying the Paiute access to water. The only places they could live without harassment was in the desert and in the higher elevations. In both environments though, there wasn't enough food, and in the desert, the water holes sometimes dried up. In the mountains, the snows could get so deep that no one could hunt and it was difficult to stay warm. In either locale, the Paiute were likely to suffer more.

For Adam, gradually the suffering diminished as the nightmares went away. Adam got stronger, and got back to his routine on the ranch. No one would have been able to tell that he had suffered through captivity because he did what he always did. He buried the hurt and the pain deep inside, and when he had bad dreams, he sat quietly in his room and stared out at the stars or the clouds depending on the weather. He told everyone he was fine, and for the most part he was. Several years later, he was held captive again, but that time it was in the desert by Kane. His recovery from that shorter captivity took longer, but eventually he did what he had done the first time. Then he met the feisty Annie and all the good memories they made seemed to bury the bad experiences so deep that they could not emerge again. Except they did emerge in nightmares again, and the unlikely catalyst was a baby's cry in the night.

Chapter 2

"Adam, wake up, you're scaring the baby. Adam!"

Thrashing and moaning, Adam slowly awakened. He was tired a lot lately with all the interruptions of his sleep and trying to work a normal day too. Annie took naps during the day frequently after nursing their son, but Adam didn't have that opportunity. For some reason, the baby's crying at night was triggering nightmares for him.

"I'm sorry to wake you because I know how tired you were, but you were scaring the baby and I didn't think you were getting much rest anyway. Another nightmare?"

"It was just a bad dream."

"You can call it what you will, but these have been happening almost every night since the baby was born. Michele asked me about it. She must be a lighter sleeper than Papa, and she's been hearing you too."

"What did you tell her?"

"There wasn't much I could tell her. You haven't told me much about them either." As Andrew suckled at her breast, Annie looked at her exhausted husband. "Adam, something has to change. You're exhausted all the time, and men who are that tired make mistakes. I don't want you getting hurt. Can you tell me what your bad dreams are about? You did promise me truth. It's time to talk."

"I don't want to give you the terrible memories I have."

"I pledged for better and for worse, in sickness and in health. I meant those words when I said them."

"I'm not sick."

"No, but there is something wrong, and I promised to be with you through the tough parts too. Now tell me."

Closing his eyes, Adam told her in a soft voice. "I dream a lot about the First Battle of Pyramid Lake. I remember seeing so many dead people. I knew many of them. There were one hundred and five casualties that day with seventy-six killed and twenty-nine wounded. I was lucky not to be one of them."

"Is that when you were taken by the Paiute and held for a few days?"

"Three months. It was three months before I was freed."

Shocked, Annie sat there and tried to process the story. "But when your father tells the story, it seems like it was only a few days or a week."

"Yes, I know he makes it sound that way. He probably has as much trouble with that memory as I do. Every day for three months, I thought they would kill me. Mogoannoga told me they would. Numaga argued with him a number of times to save my life. Finally with the Army units approaching, they made a last ditch good faith effort to try to stop the attack. It didn't work, but I was free."

"Do you have any idea why Andrew crying make you remember?"

"The only thing that I remember like that is that babies cried a lot in that camp that summer. There wasn't enough food, and the mothers didn't have enough milk for their babies. Babies would cry and cry, and when they stopped crying, you knew they were dying. They would get quiet and be still, and then within a day or so, you would hear a mother's grief stricken sobbing as she mourned her dead baby. One carried hers around with her for most of a day and refused to let anyone take the baby away from her. Finally they did, and did whatever they did with the bodies."

"So you didn't get enough food either?"

"No one did, but they certainly weren't concerned about me. I slept tied to a post in the middle of camp at night. It would get so cold, I would wake up shivering and pray for dawn to come so I could be warmed up by the sun."

"That must have been horrible for you. Have you ever told your father and brothers about this because when they talk about it, they don't make it seem that bad?"

"They knew some of what happened just because of the condition I was in by the time I got back. But I never talked with them about it much. I was having these nightmares then, and I just wanted to forget all of it."

"You never did forget those things though. You just buried them alive, and now they've come back to haunt you."

"I'll be fine."

"Maybe, but you need to face those memories, I think. Trust me enough to tell me, please. But right now, Shep needs to go outside. Then maybe we can all try to get back to sleep."

Taking Shep outside which was a fairly normal occurrence helped soothe Adam, and he found that rather amusing. He stood and watched Shep do his thing as he thought that they had an unusual dog because he seldom barked. It was probably one of the reasons his father had tolerated him indoors this long. He was also a very calm dog who liked to lay in front of the fireplace when indoors. He did like to run so when Adam went out to work, Shep often came along now that he wasn't a puppy anymore and could keep up. In their room at night, Shep lay near the small stove in the corner, Andrew slept in a cradle on the side of the bed next to Annie, and of course Adam and Annie were together. At first, Adam thought it would be weird to make love with his wife with the dog and the baby in the room, but found that if Andrew was asleep and Shep ignored them, it wasn't a problem. Of course they weren't making love very often. The baby was still very small and Annie was still healing from the labor. When Adam got back upstairs, he expected Annie to be asleep, but she wasn't. Instead, she had shed her gown, combed her hair, and was resting propped up by pillows waiting for him. He smiled when he saw her like that and dropped his clothing as fast as he could. Without turning down the lamp, he slid in bed beside her and began kissing. Soon they were making love gently but passionately as Shep curled by the fireplace. When they finished and lay in each other's embrace, Adam had a question.

"If Michele hears me when I have bad dreams, do you suppose she hears us when we make love?"

"Maybe, but they're probably making their own noise most of the time. They're still newlyweds."

"I still find it kind of strange to think of my father with a wife. I know he had three, but it's been so long, I can't hardly remember him acting like a husband. When I see him do those romantic things, it seems odd."

"It's even more odd when I see Hoss with Marsha. He is so in love with her." As usual, when Marsha's name was brought up or when Marsha was with the family, Adam stopped talking. Annie wanted to know why. "You did it again. I said Marsha, and you stop talking. What's wrong? She's not an old girlfriend, is she?" Annie had asked the question in a joking way, but even in the dim lamplight in the room, she could see Adam's pained expression. "When? Where?"

"It was well before I met you, so don't worry about that. It was in Sacramento on buying trips. We would have dinner, go to the theatre, and then have, ah, private time afterwards. There was no emotional relationship. It was just two people together on occasion. I was shocked when Hoss came back from that buying trip just after Andrew was born and announced he had met her. At that time, I didn't think anything would develop because I never saw her taking an interest in a man like Hoss."

"What's wrong with Hoss?"

"Nothing at all, it's just that she tended toward a different kind of man. I know I wasn't the only one. Now she's here engaged to Hoss, and I have no idea what I should do."

"It has been quick, but this is the first time you've said anything about that. I did think she seemed to be flirting with you sometimes, but then I thought she was just teasing. But she wasn't, was she? Could she be here after you?"

"That doesn't seem likely. She knows I'm married. I just don't have any idea what she has planned, but it has to be something."

"Maybe she fell in love with Hoss and decided to change her ways?"

"That's my quandary and why I didn't want to say anything to anyone. If she has changed, then my revelations could only cause harm."

"But if she hasn't changed, then keeping it secret could set Hoss up for a big letdown. Well now I kind of wish you hadn't told me. No wonder you have trouble sleeping worrying about Hoss and having those memories too."

"Maybe we can talk tomorrow evening? It will give you time to think about it and perhaps come up with an idea."

"Perhaps?"

"I don't want to transfer the pressure to you. Just think about it so you can give me advice."

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Because every time you open up to me like this, I know how much you love me. Letting me know what you're thinking is so intimate. I never feel closer to you than at moments like this."

"Annie, I do love you. Sunday, Hoss has invited Marsha to dinner again. He may be ready to make an announcement, so we need to talk this through before then."

Leaning toward Annie, Adam kissed her softly before reclining and closing his eyes. There were no more bad dreams that night. In the morning, Adam went down to breakfast alone announcing that his son was hungry, and as usual, Annie would be delayed. She often spent the morning rocking Andrew as well before she dressed and made her way downstairs. Hop Sing would bring up tea and biscuits for her. Then later she and Michele would do some sewing and such before having lunch together. Every day except Sunday was usually like that. This was no different except Annie tried to find out what Michele thought about Marsha.

"Adam said Hoss invited Marsha to dinner again tomorrow. He sure has been seeing a lot of her since she came to Virginia City."

"Yes, he certainly seems like he's falling in love with her. I do wonder what she is doing in town though. She always talks rather vaguely about why she's here."

"Michele, maybe that's because she followed Hoss here from Sacramento. Maybe he made a huge impression on her. Maybe she feels as strongly as he does about her."

"Annie, I just get a funny feeling about her sometimes. Ben says I'm being too suspicious. He says that is too much like Adam because he says he saw how Adam looked at her when they met, and he's afraid Adam is going to do something to mess up the relationship between Hoss and Marsha. He said he's done it before."

"But he would only do something like that if it was to protect Hoss."

"Does Adam talk much about what happened with Helen and then with Regan?"

"No, not much. Both of those subjects seem to make him uneasy, and it's in the past before I knew him, so I try not to think about things like that too much."

"Does it bother you to know that Adam was with other women before you?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Yes, but Ben married the ladies. I think that puts it in a different category. It seems from what I've heard that Adam bedded anyone who caught his eye and was willing."

"I'm not very comfortable talking about this, Michele. I know Adam had a past with women, and I had a marriage too, but that was before we knew each other. I prefer to deal with what I know about him and what he's doing now."

"I understand that. Ben has so much history that I'll never be part of that it's just easier to deal with what's going on now. So back to Marsha, what do you think about her?"

"I don't know. Mostly I have questions and I wonder."

Soon they were talking about the dress shop and other immediate concerns until Andrew awakened from his nap and needed to eat again.

Chapter 3

On Sunday, Ben was a most gracious host to Marsha. Hoss sat on the settee next to her just beaming, and at the table, Marsha sat next to him and held his hand for much of the time. Having a difficult time accepting how lucky he was, Hoss could only smile these days it seemed. Adam watched Marsha and occasionally exchanged glances with Annie. Ben noticed and wondered what was going on. What he didn't notice was Michele watching Marsha as well. She was seated to Ben's right so she could look without seeming to be. As expected, Hoss had an announcement.

"If everybody could listen up for a minute, me and Marsha got something to say. Now some of you know I asked her to marry me and she said yes." Adam and Annie knew so they weren't as surprised as the others. What Adam dreaded though was what came next because he had hoped to have time to sort out what was going on and knew he wouldn't likely be able to do that before the wedding. "We decided that there's no reason to wait. We want to get married at the end of this month. Now I know it's only three weeks away, but we just couldn't think of a reason to wait any longer."

There were congratulations all around and Hoss couldn't stop smiling. Adam did all the perfunctory congratulations and got a kiss from the prospective bride. She was reasonably chaste with the kiss, but as she released him, her hand brushed across his groin area. It could have been an accident, and her facial expression did not change, but Adam still suspected ulterior motives and that touch kicked his suspicions higher.

Unknown to Adam, Michele had seen as well what had happened noting Adam's surprise and the coolness of Marsha as if she hadn't noticed where her hand had been. Michele noted that her previous suspicion that the teasing by Marsha was really flirting was likely to be right on the mark. She didn't know what to do but knew that at least Annie and Adam were talking about it. That unfettered honesty between the two of them would be tested by this, but the trust they had in each other seemed unbreakable. Michele only could hope that it was.

It seemed that things could not go any better except when Hoss left to give Marsha a ride to town, and Ben asked to speak with Adam. Adam had heard that tone of voice before and knew his father was upset. He walked outside with him as Joe caught his eye and signaled good luck. Joe knew that tone of voice from their father too. He was upset about something.

"You didn't seem too pleased with Hoss' announcement."

"I offered my congratulations to both of them. What else was I supposed to do?"

"You know what I mean. Your attitude was clear to everyone. You don't like it that Hoss has asked Marsha to marry him."

"My attitude? There was nothing wrong with my attitude. I was polite, congratulatory, and considerate. My attitude was above reproach."

"Your attitude is seldom above reproach. You adopt that arrogant smirk that is so irritating."

"No, it's this conversation that is irritating. I suppose you have other complaints because that doesn't seem to be enough to call me out here for a dressing down."

"Yes, you have been shirking your duties on the ranch letting your brothers do all the more difficult jobs."

"Hoss wanted to take those buying trips in my place, and do I need to remind you that Annie had a baby a short time ago, and I had a duty to be here and support her. As far as other work, yes, I have taken on work closer to home and let Joe do more of the work that requires being out for a few days at a time, but again, it's only been for a short time. I certainly have done my share around her and no one, not even you, should ever accuse me of shirking."

"I should have known you wouldn't accept anything I had to say. I suppose all that flirting with Marsha is all innocent too? You have made it quite clear how much you are attracted to her."

"I have not been flirting with Marsha. She's been flirting with me."

"That's the line you always use, isn't it? It wasn't me, it was her. She kissed me. She came after me. How often do you think you can use that and have us believe it?"

"Every time because it's true. I have been trying to distance myself from Marsha, but she's not getting the message. Other than shoving her away from me, what would you have me do?" Realizing that he was shouting and it was likely everyone inside could hear him, Adam took some deep breaths and slowly blew them out trying to calm himself. He never could completely understand how his father could cause him to lose his cool so easily. Many others tried to do that and failed. There was something volatile in their relationship, and it seemed it had always been that way. He could tell his father was still very upset, but he resolved that he would remain calm and get to the bottom of this. He saw the signs of his father's inner turmoil: the eyebrows arched, the occasional pursing of the lips, and the eyes looking down fairly often. His father would never make a good poker player for he had too many tells. "Pa, what's really bothering you?"

Ben heard the conciliatory tone of that inquiry, and worked to calm himself as well. He had already said things he didn't mean angering his son and doing nothing to resolve the uncertainties he had about Marsha. Not yet ready to answer Adam's query honestly, Ben countered with a question. "Adam, what do you know about Marsha? How well do you know her?"

Puffing up his cheeks and expelling the air forcefully, Adam knew he had to answer that one no matter how much he didn't want to do that. "Pa, I didn't want to have to say anything about this. If I'm wrong in my assessment of the situation, then Hoss could be hurt very badly by what I'm going to tell you. I was with Marsha on more than one occasion in Sacramento."

"You and she were together? You mean as more than friends?"

"Yes, there was much more. There was no long term commitment. It was just for the moment, and she was a very willing participant."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"She may have changed her ways. She may actually be in love with Hoss. I can't say something when I don't know if those things are true or not."

"Hoss would be devastated to know you bedded the woman he intends to marry."

"And now you know why I haven't said anything about knowing her. Pa, I don't know if that flirting she does is to tease me or provoke me. I don't know if she's playing a game or just innocently doing what a, shall we say experienced, woman would do."

"An innocent woman wouldn't do what happened in there tonight."

Hanging his head, Adam sighed. "You saw her touch me then when I gave her a congratulatory kiss? Pa, I don't know if that was an accident or not. She acted as if nothing had happened so perhaps she was unaware of exactly what her hand touched."

"Adam, no woman is that unaware, especially a woman who has been to bed with a man."

"So now we're getting to what really has you upset? And I know it was more than one man. I wasn't the only one to enjoy her charms."

"Yes, I rather guessed that, and I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I never meant to say you were shirking your responsibilities. What I should have said is now that Andrew is obviously healthy and Annie is recovered from the delivery, perhaps you should take on a few of the more odious jobs around here."

"I'll do the restocking of the line shacks this week. Is that what you wanted?"

"Thank you. That is very gracious of you. Now what will Annie think about you being gone for the next few days?"

"She'll probably sleep better without me waking her up. She'll be fine with it, I'm sure."

"What do you think she'll say if she saw what Marsha did tonight? She must be upset already with all the flirting that's going on."

"Pa, she knows all about it. We've already talked about it. She's as worried as we are that Marsha may not be what she claims to be. She may not be in love with Hoss. If that's the case, Marsha's going to hurt him very badly. You should talk with Michele about it. She and Annie have already had one discussion about it."

"How do you know that?" The raised eyebrow and the little crooked smile let Ben know. Adam and Annie seemed able to talk about anything.

"Michele has dealt with duplicity. She may be better than anyone at knowing what might be going on here. I want to believe that Marsha has changed and wants Hoss as much as he wants her."

"But?"

"The Marsha I knew was always working an angle to get exactly what she wanted."

"But what could she want? You're married, and only a very foolish woman would want to go up against Annie. Marsha does not seem at all foolish."

"No, but she is very clever. We'll just have to keep watching, and hope that our suspicions are groundless."

"Adam, on another topic, Michele says she has heard you at night having nightmares. What's wrong?"

Expelling another big puff of air, Adam didn't want to broach this subject either knowing his father had never really come to terms with everything that had happened either. "Pa, it's the Paiute War. The memories have come back to haunt me a bit."

"But why now? That was years ago."

"It's Andrew. When he cries at night, it reminds me of that camp and the babies crying from hunger. Then I remember everything else I saw and experienced."

"Yes, I remember those days so well too. Seeing all those men killed. Burying seventy-six men and some of them horribly mutilated. Then worrying every day about you until you came home. It was a nightmare then."

"I've talked some with Annie about it. She'll help me through it."

Ben shook his head again. This was hard to get used to. He had always been the one to soothe his sons, and now Adam had a wife who had taken on that responsibility. Annie with her no nonsense ways and direct approach was wonderful for Adam, but Ben missed the days when Adam was his son and not a woman's husband. Seeing his father's reaction, Adam put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's hard to accept how things have to change sometimes. But do you know how happy I am? Do you understand that I am where I wanted to be for so long in my life?"

"Yes, son, and I am very happy you found Annie. She is a treasure."

"Now, how about if you and I both go back in to our treasures, because they're probably tired of listening in at the window. We can just talk together at least until Hoss gets home."

Inside, someone must have been in too big a hurry and knocked something off the desk because Adam and Ben heard a loud thud and whispering. By the time they got inside, all three were sitting relaxed by the fireplace except Annie had a little grin she couldn't hide. Michele had a look that made Ben nervous because he had a feeling she wasn't happy with him. He was correct. Once they were upstairs in the privacy of their bedroom, she had a little chat with him.

Chapter 4

At breakfast, Ben looked like he had not slept well. When Adam sat down and sipped the coffee that Hop Sing had poured, he looked at his father with a small grin.

"Now I haven't been sleeping well, and I look just like that. Have a little trouble resting easy last night?"

"Well it seems that Michele thinks I took the easy way out, and that I owe you a much bigger apology than anything I said last night." Without saying a word, Adam communicated quite well. Ben knew he had to continue. "She told me that she had all she could do to hold your wife back from coming out on the porch and giving it to me with both barrels, perhaps literally. Then when you got me to back down, apparently Annie was quite proud of you." Adam smiled. He had heard Annie's version of that part already.

"The easy way out?"

"She said that I was hoping it was you who was encouraging Marsha, and that would make it easier because I could just lay it all on you and make you stop. She told me in no uncertain terms that I was acting like a horse's rear end, and that I ought to learn to treat my sons with more respect."

"Finding it a bit difficult to get used to living with a spirited woman?"

"You think this is all so funny, don't you?"

"Yes, I do remember a lot of teasing that I took because Annie wouldn't do what I wanted, and she frequently had her own ideas about what we should do. I don't remember you helping me out in those circumstances. Now did I forget something that you said or did to make things easier for me?"

"It's all your mother's fault. She was too darned smart, and she passed it all on to you."

Adam started laughing then and couldn't stop. Ben had to smile and finally laugh with him. Hoss came walking down the stairs then.

"What's all the laughing about so early?"

Ben smiled at his second son. "We've just been talking about our wives, and their tendency to have rather strong opinions. It definitely makes life, ah, interesting."

"Well, I can't wait until I can sit in on talk like that. Heck, in three weeks, I'm gonna have my own wife with her own opinions. Maybe you two can give me some advice when I get to that point?"

Noting how Adam smile got just a little tighter, Ben answered for them as cheerfully as he could knowing what he did. "Son, you can always come to us for advice. We will be happy to share our tales with you. Just don't expect us to have any ideas that might help."

Adam almost spit his coffee out at that point. Hop Sing brought food out for Adam but not for the other two. Ben wasn't surprised but Hoss was.

"Hey, Hop Sing, how about us?"

"You wait until breakfast is served. I have breakfast on table when everybody sit down."

"But why don't Adam have to wait?"

"Mister Adam leave soon. He need good breakfast."

Looking over at his brother eating a breakfast of ham, hotcakes, and baked apples, Hoss was salivating. "Where you going?"

"I'm doing the restocking of the line shacks. I'll be back in about four days I would think. I'll start with the northeast ones and work my way around to the west and then back home and do the closest one last. That way if I run out of supplies, it won't be a problem. I'll be gone for three nights, so if Annie needs help with Shep at night, could you do that?"

"Well, thank you. I thought I was gonna get stuck with the restocking too. Now I can spend some time in town getting arrangements for the wedding done. And yes, I will be happy to take care of Shep. What exactly does he need?"

"He can't make it through the night yet. Just let him outside for a few minutes. He'll come back in as soon as he's done, and then he'll go back to sleep."

"You sure trained that dog darn good."

"Not really. He just seems to behave himself and do what needs to be done. That is a very smart dog that Annie picked out. She said that when she first saw him. I scoffed a bit then, but she was right. That is a very smart dog."

"You should remember that every time you're thinking of arguing with me." Annie had brought Andrew downstairs because Adam was leaving. She wanted to spend as much time with him as she could before he left. Soon Michele and Joe were downstairs too so everyone was able to tell Adam goodbye and wish him good luck on his task. Annie handed off Andrew to Michele before she headed outside to kiss her husband goodbye.

"So Papa knows now too?"

"Yes, after his talking too from Michele, I would imagine he knows everything we know. Now the big question is what to do about that. We weren't able to come up with any strategy last night other than waiting to see if Marsha shows her hand one way or another."

"Hoss came back very late last night."

"I know. I heard him come in. I just wish there was some way to let him know so he could evaluate everything. Marsha gave me a look when they were leaving last night that has me wondering even more about her."

"Yes, you said she looked a bit frightened. Maybe it's because she's worried yet that you might say something."

"We have a lot of questions but no answers. I hope that over the next few days, one of us can come up with a plan." With that, Adam pulled Annie into a hug and kissed her soundly. "I'll miss you, but remember always that I love you."

"I know. I love you so much sometimes that it hurts just to think about you being away. I'm glad you gave me Andrew. He'll keep me busier so I have less time to miss you. I did pack the book you asked for and I left you a little something inside of it."

With a smile, Adam mounted up to ride out with a wave for Annie before he started his trek leading two pack horses. Annie walked back inside to see the whole family looking worried. She smiled. "I'll be fine. I have Andrew to keep me company."

Because he was planning to meet Marsha in town now that Adam had taken on the restocking trip, Hoss rushed through breakfast and still managed to eat as much as any two of them combined. Then he said his goodbyes and headed to town. As soon as he was there, he stopped at the boardinghouse where he had left Marsha the night before. She was surprised to see him.

"Adam left to restock the line shacks. He headed out to the northeast this morning, and it'll take him four days to work around to that last one. Sure am glad it's not me doing it. Instead I got all day with you to make arrangements for our wedding. I thought we could have lunch too. Now what do you say to that?"

"That sounds wonderful. You don't have to do any work at all today?"

"Pa wants me to hire a couple men for a few days to work on some brush clearing. That shouldn't take too long. Lots of men who don't like the mines are looking for work. I'll hire a few of them and then we can relax."

Hoss found Nate, Paul, and Clyde at the saloon exactly where he expected to find them. The three were always looking for work. They worked hard, but always seemed to cause trouble wherever they were so seldom kept a job for long. Because this job was only for the week, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Now your brother Adam don't like us none. You sure he ain't gonna fire us first time he sees us cause I cain't see taking the job just to lose it the same day."

"Nah, now Clyde, Adam left this morning to restock the line shacks and you ain't even got to come over to the ranch anyway. There's some brush that needs clearing in the gullies that lead down to the stream that's near the crossroads. In a rain, it's gonna wash down and probably dam up that water better than any beaver dam ever could. We don't want that valley flooded, and that bridge isn't very high either. The easiest thing to do is to clear the brush now while it's dry. So you boys up for it?"

"The usual pay, Hoss?"

"The usual, and a bonus if you finish it by Friday. We haven't had any rain in a while and you know that there's gonna be a gully washer one of these days. The sooner that job gets done, the better."

"What should we do with the brush we clear? It's kinda dry to be thinking of burning it."

"For now, just make some big piles away from the gullies. We'll take care of it later when things green up some."

The three men headed out to work, and Hoss and Marsha went to see the minister to make arrangements. Then they stopped at the jewelry shop to order a ring before they had lunch. Hoss asked her about a dress, and Marsha said she could arrange that herself.

"Well, we got ourselves half a day and nothing to do. How about a ride?"

"Sure, that sounds wonderful. Maybe you could show me what a line shack is. You talked about them like I would know what they are, but I don't. You're going to have to teach me all about ranch life because I don't know anything about it."

"I'm sorry. You ride so well I forget you're a city gal. Sure, I'll get you a horse at the livery, and we can ride to the closest line shack. You might be getting back a bit late but the days are getting longer now so it should be fine."

The ride to the closest line shack which wasn't used much meant stopping at some high points where the grandest vistas of the Ponderosa were. At one stop, Hoss dismounted and told Marsha they should give the horses a short break. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they stood admiring the view.

"Darling, I can't help feeling that you've got something on your mind. You seem kind of lost every now and then like your mind is a hundred miles away."

Taken aback a bit by how perceptive Hoss was, Marsha had to remind herself that her first impression of him had been almost all wrong. He was gentle and kind, but he had a sharp intelligence that probably too many had underestimated. She needed to be careful what she said around him or she could mess this up still more. "Hoss, I guess the thought of being married after all these years is rather daunting. I know you never want to hear about my past, but I'm afraid that I may not be the right woman for you after all I've done and seen."

"Darling, you're the right gal for me. Now Adam and Annie got some history too, but they done put it behind them and are only looking forward. That's what we oughta do too, don't ya think?"

"I do love you, Hoss. I want you to know that no matter what happens, I truly love you."

"Aw, darling, you're getting me a bit nervous now too. Don't be talking like something bad is gonna happen cause you might just put a hex on our wedding now. Let's enjoy the day and think about only good things."

Marsha nodded her head in agreement and smiled, but inside she was groaning and worrying. She wondered how she had ever made things so complicated. It wasn't supposed to have happened like this, and now she had ensnared this wonderful man in her mess. She needed help and only knew one person that she trusted enough to ask for that help. He wasn't going to be happy at all with her, but she was sure he would do everything in his power to help her make things right. She had to pray it would be enough.

Chapter 5

On Thursday, as Adam rode up to the last of the line shacks, he was surprised to see a horse tied up outside. It wasn't one of the Ponderosa horses so he had to wonder who it was. He tied off the leads for the pack horses and loosened his pistol in its holster. As he dismounted and walked toward the line shack, he put his hand on the handle of his pistol ready to draw and did just that when the door opened, but he could see no one.

"I won't bite, and I definitely won't shoot. Come on in. I made coffee while I waited."

Adam strode into the cabin with his temper rising. "Damn it all to hell, what are you doing here? Haven't you made enough of a mess of things without showing up here?"

"Well, I'm pleased to see you too."

Adam grabbed Marsha by the upper arm then and nearly hissed at her. "Get on your horse and get out of here. You've done enough already. You don't need to make things worse."

"You're not afraid that you're still attracted to me, are you?"

"Attracted to you? You have got to be kidding. You were an easy and very attractive lay, but I had no interest in you other than that, and now that thought disgusts me. I wouldn't bed you with a gun to my head."

Marsha dropped onto one of the chairs then forcing Adam to release her arm. "I'm sorry, but I had to know. I had to know if you had any desire for me, and it's very clear you don't."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I came to Virginia City to use Hoss to get away from my life in Sacramento. He was just a stepping stone until I could find my way."

"I thought as much. So, again, why are you here?"

"Because I fell in love with him instead."

Letting those words hang in the air with no explanation, Marsha waited for Adam to react. She knew his mind was brilliant, but even he would need some time to process what she had just said.

"And you're in a lot of trouble from your life in Sacramento, and now you want me to help you with that." It was a statement, not a question.

"All those men you negotiate with regularly have no idea how smart you are. They blithely go about their business thinking that you are sweating out their offers, but you just manipulate them into the deal you want all the while making them think it's their idea. Well I need that kind of thinking right now, and I'm not capable of it."

"What have you done, or should I ask what you haven't done?"

"I haven't broken any laws or at least any that anyone would prosecute. I discovered I was with child a month ago."

"Is Hoss the father?"

"He could be. I'll only know when the baby is born."

"How will that help?"

"You know the type of man I favored: dark, in all regards, just like you. Hoss is all light. I hope the baby is his, but I couldn't tell you right now."

"When were you planning to tell Hoss?"

"At first, I wasn't going to tell him at all. I was only going to ask him for help to get away. Then I found to my amazement, that I cared for him more than I thought I could care for anyone else."

"So for the first time in your life, you're in love with someone other than yourself?"

"That's about it."

"Then tell him. Hoss loves you. He'll forgive you anything."

"Well, there is more to it. I brought more trouble with me."

Sighing deeply, Adam waited.

"Logan Manning has a lot of money and keeps a lot of it at his house. He moves money in valises to and from his house all the time. When I decided to leave, I packed my bags and took one of the valises with me. I had taken it the night before when he, ah, entertained me at his home. After he fell asleep, I dressed and grabbed the smallest one. I thought I would use the money to get away. I thought I could ask Hoss for help. But the first day I saw him, he asked me out to the ranch for dinner. That night he kissed me, and I realized then that I had feelings for him. I should have left immediately because every day I'm here, I love him more. I didn't know what to do especially after he asked me to marry him. I brought the money here with me. It's in these saddlebags. You can keep it just to show you that I have no intention of following through on my original plan."

Taking the saddlebags, Adam looked inside because he didn't trust her. "You say you love Hoss, and yet you have put him in the crosshairs of one of the most dangerous men in the west. Manning is involved in every kind of criminal activity there is. He never goes to prison because witnesses never live until the trial so no one will bring evidence against him any more. You did that to my brother and never told him!" As Adam had talked, his temper had risen. If Marsha had been a man, he might have pummeled him right then and there before loading him on a stage and sending him back into his own mess. But Marsha wasn't a man, and she was the woman Hoss loved and might be carrying Hoss' child. "Damn you, Marsha, this is a maelstrom."

"I don't know what that is, but I'm assuming it's something awful."

"It is and you are. Why come to me? Why not go to the law?"

"Do you really think that the sheriff of a little town like Virginia City is ready to take on the Manning organization?"

"You might be surprised at how much Roy can handle. But you're right in that it's too much for him alone. We'll have to bring in the U.S. Marshals too and hopefully the state governments will cooperate too."

"Adam, how can we do that? I think I saw one of Manning's men in town on Monday. I'm sure he's already moving against me. You know that sending the money back won't solve this. He'll want to make an example of me. He'll want to use me to teach the others a lesson."

Dropping onto the other chair at the table then, Adam lowered his head into his hands and sighed deeply thinking about this mess. "Didn't you say something about some coffee?"

After dinner, Adam knew that there was one place that Marsha needed to be, and it wasn't in Virginia City. "You need to come back with me to the Ponderosa. You can't stay at the main house because it would be too obvious, but we have a lot of line shacks just like this one. We'll get you to one of them, and have someone stay there to protect you."

"Why not the main house?"

"First of all, because my wife and son are there, and I wouldn't out them in jeopardy like that. Secondly, that's the first place they'll look. We have a lot of men working on the ranch, and someone will be bound to see you no matter how carefully I bring you in."

"Should I go back to town tonight?"

Adam leaned forward with his elbows on the table dropping his head and massaging his neck. "No, it's not safe for you to go back. And it's too late to go to the ranch house tonight. We'll start at first light tomorrow morning. We should be at the ranch by about ten. We'll have to tell Hoss everything, and then get you to one of the line shacks as quickly as we can."

"Thank you. I know that I asked too much of you, but you were the only one I thought I could trust to help me."

"I have to take care of the horses. The only food here is basic stuff but it will have to do. Do you know how to make beans?" At her nod, Adam pointed out the necessary materials. "I'll bring a bucket of water and some bacon. You can fix us dinner while I take care of the horses." An hour later, Adam brought in two saddles, and a bedroll. He threw the bedroll down by the stove with a saddle. Then he went out and grabbed the bags of provisions for restocking the line shack. Soon he had filled all containers and packed away everything else in the storage bins. Marsha was ready to serve dinner so he sat at the table.

"I'm sorry to take your bed tonight. But at least tomorrow you'll be home in your own bed."

"You're not kicking me out of the bed." Marsha looked up in surprise. "You get the bed roll. I'm not sleeping on the floor."

"Are you at least going to clean up before you go to sleep?"

"No. I haven't had a chance to wash in four days and my clothes smell just as bad as I do. It wouldn't do any good to wash and then dress in filthy clothing. I'll wash, shave, and put on clean clothing when I get home."

"You can grow that much beard in four days?"

Adam ate and didn't answer. He was hungry, tired, and now worried. He didn't think anything he said to her would be pleasant so he said nothing. After dinner, he cleaned up the dishes quietly and then laid down on the single bunk. When Marsha realized he wasn't going to talk any more, she cleaned up her dishes, went outside to do her business, and then came in to sleep on the bedroll. During the night, she heard Adam moaning in his sleep but refrained from going to him. She knew the sounds of a nightmare but didn't think he would appreciate any comfort she might offer. In the morning, Adam got the horses ready and packed up with hardly a word. There was no more conversation other than telling Marsha what she needed to do. On the four hour ride to the Ponderosa ranch house, Adam maintained the same demeanor until Marsha had enough.

"If you're mad at me, fine! But tell me what you're thinking. What are we going to do? What do I say to Hoss when I see him? He's going to be wondering seeing me ride in with you."

"You're staying back in the grove behind the house. The less who see you, the better. After I tell my family what's going on, and try to restrain those who would like to go out there and strangle you, someone will come for you and bring you in the back. Then it will be a matter of getting you someplace safe."

"This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

"Damn you, this is going to be terrible, but it has to be done. Now I would like to try to get my thoughts in order so I can try to explain all of this so everyone can try to stay cool."

That was the plan, but it didn't work at all like any of the scenarios that Adam imagined. He left Marsha in the grove of trees and rode to the house with the two pack horses. As he arrived in the yard, he saw Roy standing and speaking with his family. He stopped at the stable, dismounted, and tied the horses to the corral fence before walking to the house. He had four days growth of beard and smelled terrible, but Annie rushed into his arms anyway. He saw tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Andrew is all right, isn't he?"

Roy stepped toward Adam. "Adam, I'm real sorry about this, but I gotta ask ya where ya been."

"I'm sure my family has told you. I was restocking the line shacks for the last four days."

"Where was ya last night?"

"At the line shack that's southeast of here."

"I need to ask you to look in your saddlebags."

"Roy, I need to talk to you about what's in those." Adam handed his saddlebags to Roy who opened one side to find it stuffed with money.

"Adam, I gotta place you under arrest. You're gonna have to come to town with me and face charges."

"Charges? Charges for what?"

"I'm afraid I got four witnesses that say you was the one who robbed the stage late yesterday. Killed the driver too. Now I know that can't be true, but you got the money, and you were in that vicinity. Is there anyone who can testify that you was actually at that line shack all evening?"

Ben and Annie noted the hesitation in Adam and then the evasive answer. He wouldn't lie so it made them wonder why he answered the way he did. They saw him glance at Hoss too before he responded. "Roy, restocking the line shacks is a one man job."

"Then you gotta come with me until we can get this all sorted out."

"Can I talk with my father and with Annie before we go?"

"Of course, but don't take too long. You can get a change of clothes and anything else you think you'll need, but leave that pistol home."

Hoss and Joe stood in shock as Adam walked to the house with his father and Annie.

Chapter 6

"Adam Cartwright, don't you dare. Don't you dare question my trust in you and think for one moment that I would believe these ridiculous accusations. You say anything like that just one more time, and you may find my boot buried in your behind."

As Adam had taken his gunbelt off in the house, he had turned to Annie to start trying to explain that he was innocent. She was angry that he thought he needed to tell her that. He grabbed her in a hug and held her tight. Michele was sitting in a chair holding Andrew who had fallen asleep. She wondered what was going on and knew it had to be serious by the way everyone looked. His father headed to the stairs.

"I'll get you some clean clothing to wear."

Adam told Annie to come in the washroom with him. He peeled off his dirty shirt as he was walking and tried to think of how to start this. Annie helped.

"First you can tell me who you were with yesterday. I heard how you answered Roy's question."

With a deep sigh and blowing his breath out forcefully, Adam decided the only way to do this was to start with all the most shocking information first. "Marsha showed up at the line shack. She was there when I got there. I guess Hoss mentioned what I was doing and she figured it out. She needs our help. She's with child, and it may be Hoss'."

Annie was speechless for only a moment. "Who else could be the father?"

"Logan Manning could be, and she stole money from him before she came here. That's the money that was in my saddlebags."

"Does that have anything to do with the stage robbery and murder?"

"It could, but I have no idea how."

"Where is she now?"

"In the grove of trees out back. Someone needs to go get her after I leave. I want someone to come with me to town. Hoss is the most likely candidate. He can't be with Marsha because that's what they'll be expecting, and on the ride in, I can tell him what I told you. He won't be able to kill me because Roy will be there."

"If you tell him what you told me, why would he want to kill you?"

"He will have to wonder why she came to me for help, and when he starts asking those questions, I can't lie to him."

"Roy's going to hear everything too."

"He needs to hear everything. We're going to need some help with this one. Tell Pa and Joe everything after I leave. Joe can go get Marsha and sneak her in the house. Don't let anyone but family see her. Tomorrow he should take her up to one of the line shacks and stay with her. Maybe Candy could go with him. They might need more help than that eventually, but for a couple of days, it ought to be enough."

Rinsing off the soap, Adam was toweling dry when Ben brought him some clean clothing. "Is everything all right between the two of you?"

"We're fine. Annie has quite a story to tell you though. I may have forgotten some parts, but she knows the main points. Joe and Michele should hear it too. And you're going to want to set up a perimeter guard around the house by tonight."

As Adam rode with Hoss and Roy to town, he watched Hoss especially trying to gauge the mood he was in. Adam guessed that Roy would listen to everything and evaluate what he heard, but Hoss could sometimes react very emotionally to some things, and the type of things Adam had to say were the kind of things likely to make Hoss see red.

"Hoss, there are a lot of things I need to tell you, and I want you to hear me out even if you get upset at some of the things I'm going to tell you."

"Does it have to do with these charges?"

"No, I have no idea what these charges are about. I'll deal with them later. No this concerns you and Marsha."

"You've seen her? Because I went to town last night to see her, and she wasn't there. I waited until late and she didn't come back." Looking suspiciously at Adam, Hoss had a challenge question. "Was she with you cause I seen how the two of you look at each other sometimes and you're always trying to get up close to her? I figured it was more than teasing."

"Hoss, I never tried to get close to her, but yes, she was with me and nothing happened. She came to me for help."

Suddenly Roy was more interested. "You have an alibi! Why didn't you say so back at the ranch?"

"She can't come forward right now. She's in danger. I'm hoping your eyewitnesses will take one look at me and realize I wasn't robbing any stage or shooting any driver."

"Adam, the witnesses agin you are a female passenger and three men who was working on the Ponderosa at the time. They said they heard some shooting and rode to investigate. They said they saw you and a woman riding sidesaddle riding away. Now I've seen this Marsha riding with Hoss and she don't ride side saddle. You know any women who ride sidesaddle?"

"Roy, of course I do. We all do, but I don't know of any of them who would rob a stage and shoot anyone. Who are these three men?"

"You know em. Nate Duggan, Clyde Darrow, and Paul Martin. They've worked for most of the ranches hereabout for years on and off."

Hoss had to react to that statement. "Roy, you know those men hate Adam. They still blame him for that fighting over at Pyramid Lake where all those men got killed but he got taken prisoner. They still don't accept that Adam was a hostage."

"Hoss, that don't change the fact that all three of them and the lady passenger signed sworn statements that it was Adam what done it."

"Who is this passenger, Roy, and how does she know me?"

"Well she don't know ya, but I had that drawing of you that was in the Territorial Enterprise, and she said it was you. Course, you didn't have a beard in that drawing. Now I wonder why none of em mentioned that you have a beard."

"Because I wasn't there! Damn it, Roy, there's some serious stuff happening with my family, and I can't waste time on this when I should be dealing with that."

"Now you want to tell Hoss and me the rest of the story you started telling before. And you might explain why you had a saddlebag full of money while you're at it."

So Adam explained the trouble that Marsha was in, where the money came from, and why she needed to hide out. He didn't mention the baby or his past with Marsha. Roy seemed satisfied when he finished telling his tale.

"So, the two of ya was at that line shack from late in the afternoon yesterday until you rode for home today?" At Adam's nod, he continued. "I need to talk to my witnesses. I want that lady to come take a look at you. Not even you can grow that much beard in one day, so I want her to look at you and tell me that you're not the man she saw."

"What about the other three?"

""Well, now, I have no doubt they're in the saloon by now. I'll just mosey on over and ask them to describe your clothing and anything else they noticed. I may have to be more specific in my questions, but I sincerely doubt they're gonna say you've got a beard. I think maybe they's thinking they got an opportunity to get even with you for what they think you done wrong all those years ago."

"What will you do then?"

"Adam, if they signed sworn statements that was a lie, I won't have no choice but to arrest them. It would be up to a judge to decide what to do with em. In fact, I been thinking. I'll take the saddlebags in and have that money counted. If the amount is different than what was in the strongbox, then that will help your case too. Meanwhile I can go talk to the three jaspers and see what they got to say. Finally, after about an hour, you and Hoss cold ride in. I'll have to lock you up until this is cleared up, but then I can have that lady come over to identify you. Ifn she says it ain't you, if the money don't add up, and them three is lying, then that would be enough to let you go."

With a deep sigh, Adam shook his head. "All right, Roy. Let's do it your way. But could you work as fast as possible. There's a lot going on at home, and I'd like to be there."

Outside of town, Hoss and Adam pulled up and wished Roy good luck in his tasks. Then both dismounted and sat in the shade of a tree. Adam knew Hoss would have questions, but the first one took him by surprise.

"Have you been in bed with Marsha?"

Not wanting to get so confrontational especially with the rest of the news he had to deliver, Adam tried to deflect that part of the conversation. "We knew each other a long time ago."

"Now there ya go with not answering my questions. How can I trust you if you won't tell me the truth."

"Yes, then, if you have to know."

"Did you bed her last night?"

Highly offended by the question, Adam looked at his brother and frowned. "If that's how this is going to go, then I'm going to be getting pretty angry. I did not sleep with her. We slept in the same building. That's all. Now don't ever suggest that I would be unfaithful to Annie again or you're going to do damage to our relationship that might not be able to be fixed."

"I'm not sorry about asking that question. I think I have a right to know. And what I want to know is why Marsha came to you and not to me. She shoulda come to me."

"Yes, she probably should have, and I told her that. But, Hoss, she's scared and she has a right to be. She also has some news for you that she thinks might mean you don't want to be with her any more."

"Ifn you didn't sleep with her last night, then there's nothing that would change my mind about her."

"What about if she's having a baby, and she doesn't know if you're the father or if it's Logan Manning."

Shock might have been a mild description of what hit Hoss at that moment. He was surprised, worried, concerned, angry, afraid, and a few other things all at the same time. Adam watched and waited for his brother to process all of the information that he had been given. It was a lot to handle especially because he had recently been so happy and thinking he had a simple straightforward relationship with Marsha.

"What about the money? Why did she take the money?"

"She stole the money from Manning to get away. He's going to want to punish her for that."

"And you asked me to come with you? I should be back there with her protecting her especially as she's carrying a baby that might be mine, and if I marry her, it will be mine."

"Annie and Pa know everything, and by now they've told everything to Joe and to Michele. Marsha should be with them and I told Pa to set a perimeter guard. Hoss, you can't be with her. They'll track her through you. I suggested that Joe and Candy take her to one of the line shacks. They could move a few times too. That way it would be very difficult for anyone to find her."

"What about Manning? Will she have to run like that for the rest of her life?"

That thought frustrated Adam. He liked to run his life with planning, and this situation had him without an idea of how to proceed. "I don't know what to do about Manning. I wish I had a plan but I don't. Of course I just found out about all of this last night, and now I have to deal with these charges too."

"That shouldn't be a problem with what Roy already knows. He might have this cleared up by the time we get to town."

"How do you feel about Marsha being with child and not knowing who the father is?"

"I don't know. Did she know she was gonna have a baby when she came here?"

"Yes. It's why she ran from Manning. Hoss, she intended just to ask you for help in getting away. She never intended that the two of you would fall in love. I think she might truly love you. She could have taken that money and left, and she would have been safer if she did. But she stayed even though she saw a man in town that she thinks is working for Manning."

"And she didn't tell me that either."

"Hoss, I told her that if she loved you, she needed to learn to trust you. Marsha has not had much experience in either category. You were the first person in her life to bring those things out in her, but she still doesn't know how to handle either one of them very well."

"It's hard to trust someone that much when you never knew them before, isn't it?"

"You asking for her or for you?"

"Both, I guess. I never trusted anyone like I trust you and Pa and Joe. I'm not sure how much trust I can give her. She shoulda told me all of this right away."

"Yes, she should have, but she didn't realize she was falling in love with you then. Give her a chance. Let her surprise us."

"You think she'll be all right with Joe and Candy?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think it was the best idea for now. She'll be at the house tonight when you get back, but don't try to settle everything right away. You both need time to sort things out too. Hoss did you know much of her history when you were first with her?"

"Ya, I knew what kind of woman she was then, but something about her just make me want to go back to just her over and over again." With an abrupt change of conversation, Hoss stood. "Do ya think it's about time that we headed to town to see if Roy has your mess all sorted out by now?"

So the two brothers rode into town not realizing the maelstrom that would greet them. The three men who had accused Adam had been drinking and spreading a lot of stories especially reminding everyone about the Paiute War and how Adam had come home uninjured after all those other men were killed or wounded with three times as many in the former category as in the latter. Roy was having a difficult time settling them down and talking to the three supposed eyewitnesses. They had been drinking and Roy inadvertently let slip that they had not mentioned that Adam had a beard. That brought forth all sorts of reactions and gave the three a chance to amend their stories, but they did not accurately describe what Adam was wearing. They mentioned the black shirt and yellow jacket, but Adam had worn a vest and lighter jacket with his usual black shirt and pants. It was a hole in their story. But not enough yet to get Adam off the hook.

By the time Adam and Hoss reached town, Roy had to lock Adam up for his own safety as much as for anything else. Worse news was that the lady passenger had left for Carson City expecting to be back for a trial so she was not immediately available either. The stage line did not have an answer for how much money was in the strongbox either because they were carrying money for several banks and businesses and did not have an accounting for the total. The main office had that information but it would take until Monday to get an exact accounting to the office in Virginia City if they sent a telegram immediately. Adam was looking at a weekend in jail and it put him in a foul mood.

Roy tried to ease the tension. "Now you can just relax in there. I'll be doing my best to get that lady to come here to identify you. Soon as she does that, and those three jaspers sober up so I can tell em what could happen because of a false statement to the sheriff, well then we'll have you out of here."

"Roy, you do know who that money belongs to. This is only going to get worse with more publicity."

"Adam, there ain't nothing I can do about that. Now I will be on the lookout for a stranger in town who might be that man Hoss' lady is worried about, but without a description, that's going to be difficult."

"Hoss can get you that information for Roy tonight. Hoss, could you reassure Annie that I'm all right but warn her that I might be here until Monday?"

"Adam, Annie is going to be very upset."

"Yes, but not with me. I can hardly get in any more trouble in here anyway. Now Roy needs to worry about Annie, not me."

At first, Adam's inclination was to shave, but then he realized how important it might be to have his beard so instead he asked Roy if he had anything to read. All Roy had was a stack of wanted posters and the old Territorial Enterprise with Adam's picture in it that the lady had used to identify him as the perpetrator of crimes. He settled down to read what he had and hoped Hoss would remember to bring him a book when he returned to town the next day.

Chapter 7

"Well, I have heard stories of you and your brothers ending up in this setting on more than one occasion but I did think that perhaps you would have managed to put this kind of behavior behind you."

"Ha ha, very funny. Now what did you bring to me? A pistol in a cake, a knife stuck in your boot, or something clever?"

"No, ya big lug. I thought you ought to suffer a little as you take your short vacation here."

Roy opened the cell and said nothing. He had heard enough from Annie already this morning that he wasn't about to give her another opening. He could recall her words well enough. Who would think a pretty gal like that would use words like those she called him. Well, he supposed she had all night to think about what she was going to say. And boy she did have one heck of a temper. It was a wonder to him that she and Adam hadn't had some terrible rows, but Ben said they argued all the time and seemed not to have a problem with it at all. He decided he wouldn't do any searching of what she brought either because being called a 'lily livered moronic horse's patoot' once was good enough for that day. Roy knew that Adam was innocent and had tried to explain that to Annie, but she couldn't understand why if he knew that, he locked Adam up anyway. Apparently arguing that he had to go by the evidence was not acceptable to the fiery young woman with a child on her hip. He pulled the door to the back cell area closed to give Adam and Annie some privacy.

"Roy is only doing his job."

"Listen, mister, I missed you. I slept alone for five nights now, and I am in no mood for forgiving."

"Yes, sweetheart, and what would you be in the mood for?"

"You know already, and I bet you're feeling the same way. This is ridiculous. When is that woman supposed to get here anyway?"

"Hopefully today. I paid for a ticket each way, meals, and a room if she wants it. I couldn't do it directly of course, but I gave Roy enough money to cover all of that so he could make the offer."

Gently, Adam took Andrew from his mother's arms and laid him on the cot. Then he gathered Annie in his arms and pulled her close. "You don't mind a kiss from a bearded man, do you?" She tipped her head up and pulled him closer which was answer enough. The kiss went on long enough that Andrew started fussing. Adam picked him up and then sat on the cot. Annie sat down beside him and laid her head against his shoulder.

"She's not with child."

"What? How could you know that?"

"I helped her pick out clothing to travel to the line shacks incognito this morning. Then she dressed while I was there. There are no signs of being with child, and there were signs that she was having her flow. Shep wouldn't keep his nose away from her. She found it very irritating, but I found it interesting so I didn't make him back off."

"Why would she say she was with child if she wasn't?"

"Oh, I could think of a few reasons."

"Oh, yeah. She could get my help, Hoss' help, and everyone's sympathy. Damn her, she hasn't changed a bit. Meanwhile she's put Hoss in a dangerous position. Did you say anything to Hoss or anyone else?"

"I told Michele what I thought, and she had been suspecting the same thing. She said she knew she changed when she was carrying a baby. She miscarried early, but the signs were still there. Marsha is either very stupid or very devious and clever, and you know which one of those ideas I favor."

Andrew was still fussing so Annie took him and checked his diaper which was dry. "I suspected as much. I changed him on the way in, but he hasn't eaten since early this morning. He's hungry. I'll nurse him here, but get ready to hand me a blanket to cover if anyone walks in here."

Their time together was uninterrupted because Roy was nervous about entering the back cell area. Annie had put quite a scare into him, and he didn't scare easily. She had that same kind of ferocious self-confidence her husband had when he was in the right. Roy was not going to cross her again in the same day. When Ben and Hoss arrived at Roy's office, they found him sitting at his desk drinking coffee with the door to the cells closed.

"I done told ya, Pa. That little gal can scare anybody when she's a mind to. I could tell how mad she was by the way she walked in here before. Hey, Roy, what do you think of Adam's she-lion now?" Hoss laughed at the look Roy gave him.

Ben was more direct. "Have you come to your senses enough so you can release Adam now?"

"Well, good morning to you two, too. I'm waiting on the stage. Hopefully when it comes in, we'll have ourselves a witness who can swear it wasn't Adam at that robbery. Adam gave me some information last night that might just give us a positive identification of who done it instead. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wait for the stage. There's too many ornery people here in my office who don't know a proper respect for the law." Roy grabbed his hat, stuck it on his head, and stalked out.

Pouring out cups of Roy's awful coffee and drinking was about all Ben and Hoss could do. Neither wanted to interrupt the family time that Adam and Annie had, and they sat drinking bad coffee and discussing what they should do to help Marsha. It was a half hour before Roy returned with a middle aged lady who still had dust on her jacket from the ride. He dropped her bag by the door but asked Ben to please go tell Adam that the witness was there. Ben knocked on the door to the cells and waited a moment before entering. The lady was surprised at how polite everyone was being with a criminal but said nothing. Then Roy escorted her back to the cells. She looked in at Adam sitting with his wife and baby and then looked at each of the empty cells.

"Well, where is he?"

There were smiles all around except for the witness who looked quizzically at Roy. "Ma'am, this here is the man you identified as the one who stopped the stage and shot the driver."

"No, sheriff, the man I identified did not have a beard. And this man has wavy hair, and, young man, would you stand, please?"

Adam stood and walked to the cell bars.

"Sheriff, this man is taller too with broader shoulders. That other man was just a bit taller than me, but this man towers over me. I certainly would have noticed that. This is not the man who robbed that stage and shot that poor man down."

"Thank you, kindly, ma'am. Now I got just one more thing to ask of ya. Would you wait in my office while I go round up the other three witnesses and bring em here?"

"It won't take long, will it? I promised my husband I would be on the return stage. He worries about me a lot, and I was just gone on that trip to Placerville to see my parents."

"It shouldn't be long at all, ma'am. You can sit in one of them chairs and make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

A half hour later, three hung over cowboys stood shuffling their feet and looking down at the floor of the sheriff's office.

"Now, you boys swore that it was Adam Cartwright. But this lady who stood next to the man as he opened that strongbox says it ain't him. Now what do you boys have to say now?"

Their poorly planned effort to punish Adam for surviving the Paiute War had just gone up in flames. Clyde spoke first. "Well as he was riding away, we thought it kinda looked like him. We talked it over and decided it was him. I guess we were wrong."

"You guess you were wrong? Well, you boys can just unbuckle them gunbelts. You're spending a few days in jail until the judge decides on Monday what I should do about men who lie to the sheriff in sworn statements." Roy handed the ring of keys to Hoss and nodded at the back cell area.

"Now, Sheriff, it wasn't exactly a lie. It was more like we was mistaken."

"You three have been bad mouthing Adam Cartwright for years."

"Well, it ain't right that that Injun lover got away with it, and never got punished."

Annie walked out incensed by what she had heard as Adam followed behind with Andrew. Annie was ready for them. "He was beaten nearly every day for three months. He wasn't fed except for scraps. He slept in the open at night tied to a post. And every day they threatened to kill him. Finally they tried to trade him to avoid an Army assault. It took him weeks to recover when he was released. He still has nightmares about that experience. Now how exactly were you planning to make him suffer more for being a survivor? Do you plan to torment the other twenty-nine survivors of that battle? When can the men who lived that day begin to forget the horrors of what happened to them?"

There was silence for a moment. Then Roy picked up a wanted poster from his desk. "Adam was bored last night and spent some time looking through stacks of wanted posters. He found this one which is real interesting. Now any of you seen this man before?" The lady gasped and the three men got wide-eyed. The lady spoke first.

"Sheriff, that is the man. He has those same eyes and the straight hair. It's him."

Roy looked at the three cowboys who nodded and echoed each other's answers that it was him. "Now this here is James Reed. He's wanted in Texas and California for robberies and murder. His wife is suspected of being involved in his crimes. She rides sidesaddle." Roy pointed at the back cell area then and the three were going to head that way when Adam spoke up.

"It won't do any good, Roy. The judge will give them some time in jail, and they'll have something else to hold against me. Just let them go."

"If that's what you want then, Adam. But I got my own idea on where they're going next. Come with me, boys. Ma'am, thank you so much. You did a great job of helping justice today. Now I'm sure Ben would be willing to walk you over to the stage depot. Hoss, would you come with me?" Roy walked the three cowboys over to the Bucket of Blood and had them tell everyone they had lied about Adam. Then they went to the Silver Dollar. Eventually they had been in at least ten saloons with the same speech each time.

"Sheriff, ain't that enough? We done told just about everybody that we lied."

"Yeah, that's enough of that. Now the next thing is, there's jobs for cowboys in Texas, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana, and lots of other places. Get the idea?" All three nodded. "Then, I'll expect you'll be headed in one of those directions in the next hour, or I'll find room in my cells and more charges I can file against all three of you. Is that clear?" Again all three nodded, and Roy walked back to his office with a smile on his face. Then he remembered that Logan Manning had a man in town, and he would have to start working on that situation next.

Chapter 8

After speaking briefly with Roy and sending off a couple of telegrams, Adam was ready to go home. He would have preferred being in the carriage with Annie, but that meant his father would have to ride Sport. He did mention the possibility, but the look on his father's face let him know that wasn't going to happen. So he rode next to Hoss and ahead of the carriage. The two of them could talk.

"Have you thought about what we discussed on the way into town?"

"Yeah, and I want to do what I can to protect Marsha, but Adam, I got some worries too."

"Let me guess. You're wondering what else she didn't tell us. You're thinking that she could be lying. And probably you're not so sure that if she's with child that it could be yours."

"Why do you even ask me questions when you got all the answers already?"

"Hoss, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, but those are the same thoughts I've been having."

"Oh, that's all right. This whole thing has me on edge all the time. I don't know what to worry about most. I can't see as how that baby could be mine cause it takes a gal a while to know, doesn't it? And we ain't been together much and only in the last month. The first time was in Sacramento, and then only once here. Adam, I just don't know what to think."

"You're doing fine. Everything you said is logical, but also points to her not telling the truth or at least not all of it. Annie and Michele don't think she's with child at all."

"They think she made that story up? Why would she do that?" One look at Adam, and Hoss knew too. "Yeah, she pegged me just right, don't you think. Little gal claims to be in trouble and all I can think about is helping her. But why did she go to you and not me then?"

"Believability. If she went to me and claimed it was because she could trust me, then she gets me on her side too and has me tell the story to you. Me getting arrested worked right into her plans."

"She is in danger though, isn't she? I mean, Logan Manning is a dangerous man."

"Yes, that part is probably true. That's why she wanted to ensnare us in her scheme. She needs help. But what has me confused is what help is she after exactly? She's got money. She could have gone somewhere with that money so that he wouldn't find her. Why stop so close, and leave herself open to being attacked?"

"And us too."

Adam rode for a while deep in thought. Finally he looked at Hoss and shook his head. "She's bringing him here, if she can, so he'll be killed. Even if he isn't, he'll go to trial here for killing us because there's no possible way for him to avoid that unless he goes on the run. No matter what happens, she's rid of him."

"And she can go live anywhere she wants with the money she's got."

"Hoss, that valise full of money would be enough for an ordinary person, but Marsha has expensive tastes. She must have more to this plan, but I have no idea what that would be. I was thinking that she hoped to marry you and get access to the Ponderosa wealth, but she must have seen that our wealth requires a lot of work and much of it is tied up in property."

Both men were lost in thought for much of the rest of the ride. Once they got home though, Adam had some very clear ideas of what he wanted to do. "I'm going to shave in the washroom and take a bath. Annie, after you put Andrew in his cradle, would you bring me some clean clothes?" But Adam had a look in his eye that said there was going to be more than a shave and a bath going on in that washroom. He asked Hop Sing for hot water and lathered up his face. With his shirt off, he was shaving almost a week's worth of whiskers from his face when Annie got there with his clean clothing. She watched him shave and asked what he and Hoss had been discussing so intently on the ride home. So he filled her in on their ideas as he shaved. Then he sat on the bench and pulled off his boots.

"Do you want me to stay and scrub your back?"

"Sweetheart, I had a lot more than back scrubbing in mind although that would be a good start." He grinned and she knew he had a plan. Hop Sing brought in buckets of water then and began filling the tub. Adam had already put wood in the stove in the washroom and it was pleasantly warm in there. Hop Sing smiled as he left for he had some idea what Mister Adam might be planning especially because he had fired up that small stove to heat the room. He seldom did that except in winter for he was, by nature, a warm man. As soon as Hop Sing left the room, Adam locked the door. Annie looked at him and wondered what he had in mind although she was starting to get an idea. He saw her look and responded by undressing.

"I need a bath and I missed you a lot. I was thinking we could combine the two and save time assuming you missed me as well."

"It's the middle of the day! Your father and brother are out there."

"My father has been married four times now, and Hoss has a pretty good idea of what men and women like to do together. If you don't say anything, they won't say anything."

"But Michele will know too."

"Michelle probably wishes my father would think of things like this to do too. Now are you joining me or not. I shaved." He gave her that cheeky grin before he stepped into the water and sat down. Leaning back, he watched her. She began to unbutton her dress slowly as a smile crept over her lips. "Now, you're teasing me."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Not at all. I'm appreciating this very much." Adam started running the bar of soap across his arms and chest. Annie began to speed up her undressing which made him grin. However all thoughts of Annie scrubbing his back disappeared as they found much more pleasurable things to do. Afterwards, Adam held Annie close and kissed her softly. "They'll never know except I think we got your hair wet." He stood pulling her up with him and then grabbed a towel to dry her hair. She toweled dry with his help and dressed. Adam helped her with her hair, and when it was presentable, they both walked out of the washroom as if they had done nothing out of the ordinary. In the great room, Michele handed Andrew to Annie.

"He was fussing a little so I've been rocking him, but I think he wants what his mother has."

Watching Annie walk up the stairs to go to their bedroom to nurse Andrew, Adam wanted to go with her and wanted to stay and talk with the others about what to do about Marsha. His father saw his look.

"Go ahead and go with your wife. Fifteen more minutes aren't going to matter. You should be with them."

Adam didn't need much prompting. With a suggestion he was going to make, he would be missing his family again very soon. When he got to the bedroom, Annie was already seated and nursing their son. Adam sat on the bed and watched not saying a thing. These were the kinds of memories and moments that needed no words. When Andrew finished nursing, Adam took him and held him on his shoulder until he burped and fell asleep. He laid him down in the cradle and asked Annie to come with him leaving the door open.

"We need to talk downstairs. We'll leave the door open so we can hear him if he needs us."

Once downstairs again, Adam made his suggestion. As expected Annie and Michele objected. We need to keep you safe. I refuse to allow my son to be placed in jeopardy, and I know he is. This is the best solution. We can have you there by the end of today."

"We can't just drop in on them like this." Michele did not know Annie and the Swede, but Adam's wife Annie did for Adam was quite fond of the couple and they felt the same toward him.

Ben agreed it was the best plan. "Adam and I can have you over there in just a couple of hours. Hoss can go get Joe and Candy. They can bring Marsha back here."

"But we want to be here to help." Annie was feisty.

"We can't protect you and protect Marsha and ourselves at the same time. It leaves us too vulnerable."

"What if they find out where we are?"

"We'll stop by Jeremy's place and get him to go with you. I'm sure Swede knows some men who could help too. You'll be fine."

Neither Annie nor Michele liked the idea of being gone from their husbands, but begrudgingly they had to admit, it was the best idea. Logan Manning probably already knew Marsha was on the Ponderosa, and he would have been collecting information about the family by now. They did need to be away to be safe. It didn't take long to pack, and Andrew was still sleeping in his cradle so Adam carried him in it to the large carriage setting him on the back seat. He tied Sport to the back, and Ben rode beside the carriage with Annie sitting with Andrew in the back and Michele seated next to Adam on the seat. As expected, Jeremy agreed to go along, and they got a warm welcome from Annie and the Swede. Adam hugged Annie tightly as they said goodbye. Ben gave Michele a hug and long kiss too. Then the two men headed back to the Ponderosa to try to clean up the mess into which Marsha had put them.

As they rode, Adam suggested they stop in Virginia City briefly to see if there was any answer to the telegrams, and to check in with Roy. Adam had the answers he wanted to his telegrams, and Roy had identified several men that could be assumed to be working for Logan Manning. Two of them had been visiting saloons and surreptitiously ferreting out information on the Cartwrights not knowing how well the Cartwrights were liked by the saloon girls who quickly alerted Roy to the presence of these shady characters asking these questions. Roy quietly hired a few more deputies to keep an eye on them.

Up on the mountain, Hoss had arrived at the line shack. He told the three there what had happened and summoned them back home. Marsha noticed a change in Hoss' demeanor and suspected she knew why. She said little, so Hoss dominated the conversation on the way home. He especially delighted in describing how Roy had made Nate, Clyde, and Paul go to the saloons where they had spread their lies and admit it. He assumed they would never see the three again.

Once everyone arrived back on the Ponderosa, Adam and Hoss talked to the hands to set up security. Inside the house, Candy and Joe closed all the shutters. It would be hotter in the house that way, but there would be less surprises too. Ben moved firearms into each room of the house preparing as well as he could for an assault that all of them expected. Once they had made all the preparations they could, they sat down to share a meal. It didn't have the lighthearted banter that usually accompanied a meal with these men. Marsha knew it was all because of her, but that didn't bother her as much as the fact that she suspected they knew more about her plans and no longer believed her story. Hoss was not affectionate although he was polite. Marsha excused herself early saying she was tired and needed to sleep. Once she was upstairs, Ben and Hoss filled Candy and Joe in on what had happened. Joe was very angry.

"She's still a gal, Joe, and that man wants to kill her. No matter what she done, we have to protect her."

But upstairs, Marsha was packing a small bag and dressed in all dark clothing suitable for fleeing in the dark. She planned to slip out after everyone was in bed and sleeping. She thought she could be far from the house by the time anyone realized she was gone. Guards were set to stop someone approaching the house. No one would be expecting someone to leave.

Chapter 9

"She's gone, Mr. Cartwright. She rode right on by us before we even had any idea she was there."

Guards had been set, but Marsha had evaded them because they had never expected her to do what she had done. They had underestimated her deviousness once again. Ben told the men to go back to the bunkhouse for there was no one left to protect. He would not risk their lives following her in the dark. She had made her choice and would have to live or die with it. When the men got back inside, they talked briefly.

"Why didn't she want our help? We woulda protected her." Hoss still had some feelings for her even though he knew what kind of woman she was.

Adam stood next to where Hoss was sitting and simply placed a hand on his shoulder. "She has some plan that we don't know. We knew there was more to this than she was telling. I guess we may never know what she was really doing here."

After pouring himself a small brandy, Ben sat in the red chair. "No, Adam, I think she underestimated us. She never thought we would figure out that she was lying as quickly as we guessed it. Whatever her plan was, it apparently didn't involve us knowing what we were facing. Once she got back here, and Hoss acted differently toward her, she knew."

With nothing more to say, the men drifted off to their beds one by one. The next day was Sunday, and most of the hands would be leaving for the roundup that was supposed to start on Monday. Ben had thought to keep them for security but now thought he wouldn't have to do that. By midday, Ben and Adam planned to go pick up the ladies and Andrew. Each fell into sleep with a lot of questions but not as much worry.

Adam and the others each awoke the next morning with a gun barrel pressed to their throats. Marsha had undone the shutter in her bedroom and left through the window and down the porch roof. None of them had thought to check her room before retiring and Manning's men entered the house the same way. All of them were marched downstairs one by one and tied to dining room chairs. Manning himself sat in a big red leather chair and waited until that task was completed.

"Now what do you want? You must know by now that the woman you were following is gone." Ben could see no reason for them being tied up.

"Ah, but you see, I'm not sure she is truly gone. Once your men leave, then we will thoroughly search the premises. Unless one of you would like to volunteer the information to speed up this whole process."

Adam tried to push Manning into revealing his purpose but got more than he expected. "What do you hope to gain from this? Marsha is gone, and the sheriff has the money."

"Yes, you, I owe you something." Manning backhanded Adam several times. "It was you who gave her the seed that grew into this. You weren't satisfied taking her to your bed. You had to tell her she was too smart to be my consort. You told her she could leave and be anything she wanted to be. Oh yes, I have heard for the past couple of years all these ideas you planted in her head. So this is all really your fault."

Ben could see the jeopardy in which Adam had been placed. He tried to come up with a solution. "We can replace the money she took from you. The valise had what? Twenty thousand? Thirty thousand?"

Manning began laughing so hard even a few of his men grinned. "Twenty thousand! Thirty thousand! You think that is all she took from me. She drained my bank accounts and sent the money to banks all over the country. She has the papers necessary to claim the million she took from me. Ah, I can see from your expressions that you had no idea what that vixen could do. Yes, I only discovered the missing funds after she left. She timed it all out quite perfectly. I should have had her working on the financial part of my businesses. Of course I gave her too much freedom, and this is how she repaid me. I need that money. I owe people, and they will not be happy with me if I cannot make my payments. So you see, I have nothing more to lose except my life. I will do what it takes to get my money back. Now, where is she?"

Hours later and after fruitless searching, Manning stomped back into the house. They had found no trace of where Marsha might be. The men in the house were telling the truth, but that would not save them.

"By rights, I ought to shoot every last one of you for interfering. But I do think that the embarrassment of being completely fooled by that vixen will be more than enough punishment for you all. Good day, and I do hope you manage to free yourselves before you starve to death. Well, maybe I wouldn't feel so bad about that after all. Ta da." As Manning got to the door, he motioned to Clyde, Paul, and Nate. "You boys did well. Come on outside, and I'll give you what you earned and maybe a bonus too." With smiles, the three men proceeded outside. Less than a minute later, there was the sound of three shots followed by three more in slow succession.

"Why'd he shoot em?"

"Hoss, he's cleaning up the loose ends."

"But, Adam, he said he wouldn't shoot us."

Adam was working his chair over toward Joe. It was a painstaking process and he didn't think he had a lot of time. Joe understood what he was doing and worked his chair around and then toward Adam. "Be careful, Joe. If we tip over, this won't work." Once Adam reached Joe, he moved his chair so that Joe's hand was next to one of the knots binding him to the chair. As Joe started to work on loosening it, all of them suddenly got a whiff of a foul smell.

Ben was shocked. "He's spreading coal oil around the house." Then he had a suggestion. "Hoss, you're the only one who can do this. Can you smash that chair to get loose?"

As Joe loosened one knot and then another, Adam was slowly freeing himself. As soon as he could reach his pocket, he pulled out a penknife and cut the remaining ropes. Then he cut Joe free handing him the small knife so he could free the others. Adam ran outside with Hoss by his side as he had finally smashed the chair and gotten free. Both had grabbed pistols and headed in opposite directions around the house to find the men spreading the coal oil in order to stop them before they started the fires that would consume the house. Hoss reached his man who raised his arms immediately, but the man Adam found was about to light a small pile of debris soaked in coal oil. When he refused to throw down the lit match, Adam shot him and then ran and stomped the sparks into the dust. By then, Joe, Candy, and Ben were there to help. Ben had freed Hop Sing who came to the back of the house with buckets of sand. They began covering the coal oil in a thin coating of sand. Soon it would no longer be a danger as some would soak down into the soil and some would evaporate. As they worked, Roy rode into the yard.

"What happened here? I was coming out to tell ya that those Manning men weren't in town no more. And why are these three dead?"

Hoss was the first to speak. "Adam shoulda let you lock these three jaspers up. They done told Manning how to get to the house without us seeing em. They musta signed on with him in town after Roy told em to leave. I'm guessing they were watching the house."

"Who shot them?"

"Manning or one of his men. We were tied up at the time."

Clyde, Paul, and Nate were laying on the porch. Each had been shot in the back and then the coup de grace had been administered to their foreheads. Logan Manning did not let any loose ends around. But he had never run into the type of planning from potential victims as he had faced with Adam and Ben Cartwright although they had nearly perished too.

"We have one prisoner too, and there's a wounded man out back who probably won't make it. I had to shoot him so he wouldn't fire the house." Adam regretted the shooting but would have done it again exactly the same if given the choice. He just didn't like having to kill someone.

"I got the alerts out on Marsha and on Manning. First town they stop in, they'll be arrested. Now you say you were tied up?" As the men nodded, Roy was calculating what other charges he could level. He could smell the coal oil as well. "Were they gonna fire the house?"

"Yeah, Roy, with us inside. I think you can add attempted arson and attempted murder to those charges you're thinking about." Ben sat down on a chair on the porch, but Adam was headed to the stable. "Adam, where are you going?"

"If they knew so much, I'm afraid they know where Annie and Andrew are. I'm riding there now."

Seeing the wisdom of that and the urgency, all the men saddled their horses to head to Annie and Swede's place as Roy headed back to town. Hoss and Ben could not keep up the furious pace set by Joe, Adam, and Candy on their horses so they told the three to go ahead and that they would be right behind them. By the time they reached their destination, the horses were lathered and blowing. Swede walked out of the house to greet them.

"Now what's so awful you had to nearly kill these horses getting here?"

"Manning is on the loose. Is everyone here and safe?" Adam might have been holding his breath waiting for the answer.

"Ya, Ya, they are all inside eating cookies. Come in, you see, come in."

Joe and Candy volunteered to look after the horses as Ben and Adam followed Swede into the house. Swede's Annie met them at the door with hugs and reassurances that all was well. Adam gathered up his wife and held her close without saying a word. Ben did the same with Michele. When they released their wives, they wanted to know what had happened.

"Sweetheart, I am so glad that you and Andrew weren't there."

"Adam, what happened?" So Adam kept his arm around his wife and told the story to the mesmerized group. Several times he stopped the narrative to see if his father had anything to add, but Ben told him to keep going. Finally he told them of the execution of the three men who had falsely accused him, and that Manning was on the loose and that they had no idea where Marsha had run. Annie could feel the tension in Adam's body and knew that he was still very worried.

"Adam, do you think it's safe to go home?"

Not having a good answer for that, Adam hugged her closer. Ben had not considered up to that point that it might not be safe to go home, but with Adam's lack of a response, he thought about why it might not be safe. Manning did not leave witnesses so if he found they were still alive, he might want to tidy up that part of his affairs. He had shown a cunning ability to get to them once already. Swede took care of their immediate concerns by telling them it was too late to go home anyway so they ought to spend the night. Adam smiled and thanked his host. After dinner, everyone was relieved when Adam and Swede got into a discussion of how to improve their mansion. Swede wondered if one of those indoor water closets like they had in the best San Francisco hotels could be put in his house, and Adam thought there would be no problem. Soon they were talking measurements and material requirements as the ladies made suggestions of how to make it more practical. In the morning, Ben thanked his host for the lodging.

"If your son fixes us up with that indoor water closet, you'll be owed a lot more than one night's lodging. It gets awful cold here in the winter trudging outside, and the bugs in the summer are mighty pesky. It is going to be quite the luxury for my Annie to have that."

Helping Michele into the carriage, Ben climbed up on the seat to drive. Buck was tied behind, and Annie and Andrew had the back seat. Adam was riding because he and his father thought that if there was trouble, it was better that Adam and Jeremy be mobile. The ride home was pleasant despite some drizzle as they neared the ranch house which seemed to be very quiet. Adam rode ahead to make sure there was no trouble as Jeremy and Ben went on alert watching for any sign of trouble. When Adam neared the house, he saw no one, but there was a strange horse tied up outside. He tied Sport to a tree, and carefully approached the house. He looked in the kitchen window and saw that Hop Sing was talking to someone. As he listened, he relaxed and returned to the others telling them everything was fine. As they pulled into the yard, Hop Sing came outside with Roy to meet them. As Ben greeted his old friend, he had to ask why he was there.

"Well, now, Mondays are kinda quiet in town. Today there were some burials, and Dan is putting this whole story in the paper and had a few questions. None of that took much time so I thought I would come out here with news."

Smiling at his father's exasperation with the length of time it took Roy to deliver any kind of news, Adam just asked him what his news was.

"None of you need concern yourselves about that Manning. They picked him up in Carson City. He's sitting in the jail cells there with his men. I sent the list of charges over there. They wanted permission to try him there cause it's a gonna be a feather in the cap of the prosecutor and the governor too to have that nasty rascal tried and convicted in our state when California wasn't able to do that. I said I sure had no problem with that and told em they could keep all of em. That's all right with you, ain't it?"

"It is just great with us. We can ride to Carson as easily as to Virginia City. Now what about Marsha?"

"Well, that Manning gave em some clues about her, but I for one ain't holding my breath. That is one smart woman. I'd say she probably covered her tracks real well. I don't think the law is all that interested in finding her anyways. She stole from a criminal. Don't hardly seem worth the effort to catch her."

"She must have been planning this for a long time in order to have all the paperwork ready to move the money, and to have all the rest of her scheme planned out."

"Adam, you just thank your lucky stars that you didn't get killed cause of her. I truly think she meant for Manning to kill all of you and then get tried for murder here. She may be smart but it's her ice cold heart that scares me the most. I hope to God none of us ever see her again."

"If they do want to find her, tell them to try New Orleans. That based on something she said to me a long time ago."

"All righty, Adam, I'll do that. Now Hop Sing done invited me for lunch, and if you don't mind too much, I'd like to stay and visit with all of you. It's not often I get to be in the middle of a happy family."

Walking up to Roy, Annie handed off Andrew. "Perhaps you wouldn't mind holding him while I get our things into the house?"

Roy's smile showed how pleased he was. Ben went in the house with the ladies as the others took care of the horses. Life was getting back to normal. Adam would have to leave to catch up to his brothers at the roundup, but Ben was staying home this year leaving it up to his sons to get the count. Jeremy shared lunch with them and then headed to his home to get his gear and ride to the roundup as well.

A month later in New Orleans, Marsha stepped from the riverboat onto the dock under her new identity of Michelle Renoir, wealthy widow, who intended to enjoy many years of leisure living in the city she had dreamed of seeing for so many years. She smiled as men were anxious to call a carriage for her and load her luggage in the back. They probably assumed it was clothing, but one million dollars took a lot of space. The driver listened to her directions very politely, and then drove her directly to the police station. As she objected that was not her destination, he turned to her with a pistol in his hand to inform her that it was indeed her destination.


End file.
